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LIBRARY  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OE  ILEINOIS 
AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


943.08 

W672Wfl 

1905 


V .1 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/privatelivesofka01fisc_0 


SECRET  MEMOIRS 

OF  THE 

COURT  OF  BERLIN 

UNDER  WILLIAM  II 


VOLUME  I 


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HENRY  W.  FISCHER 


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“ TUE  AUTHOR  TO  H/S  CRITICS'' 


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FISCHER’S  FOREIGN  LEi  J i.iiS,  Inc.. 
pubUat'Cij 

BENSONHURST,  NJ  W'  YORK 


Photo 


Jl  JLLIAM  II,  GERMAN  EMPEROR,  KING  OE  PRUSSIA 

S'  Henry  W.  Pischer  and  John  Russell,  of  London,  taken  at  the  Neues  Pt 
Potsdam,  May  30,  1891,  zvhen  the  Kaiser  ivas  33  years  old 


ff>ri\>ate  Xives  of  IRaiser 
MtlUam  11  anb  Mis  Consort 

an&  Secret  Kietori?  of  tbe  Court  of  BerUit 


FROM  THE  PAPERS  AND  DIARIES  EXTENDING  OVER  A PERIOD,  BEGIN- 
NING  JUNE,  1888,  TO  THE  SPRING  OF  1898,  OF  URSULA  COUNTESS  VON  EP- 
PINGHOVEN,  DAME  DU  PALAIS  TO  HER  MAJESTY  THE  EMPRESS-QUEEN 


BY 

HENRY  W.  FISCHER 


SECOND  EDITION 


With  a Notable  Preface 

“ THE  AUTHOR  TO  HIS  CRITICS” 


H llustrateb 

Engravings  by  The  Austin  Engraving  Co.,  Albany,  N.  Y. 


FISCHER’S  FOREIGN  LETTERS,  Inc., 

publlsbets 

BENSONHURST,  NEW  YORK 


Copyright,  1898,  By  HENRY  W.  FISCHER 
Entered  at  Stationers’  Hall 


Copyright,  1898,  By  HENRY  W.  FISCHER 
In  France,  Austria,  Italy,  Switzerland,  and  all  foreign  countries  having 
international  copyright  arrangements  with  the  United  States 


Copyright,  1905,  By  HENRY  W.  FISCHER 


A ll  rights  reserved^  including  those  of  translation 


THE  AUTHOR  TO  HIS  CRITICS. 


The  burden  of  criticism  called  forth  by  PRIVATE 
LIVES  OF  WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT/’  hinges 
on  the  question : “ What  purpose  does  the  publication  of  these 
volumes  serve?”  The  Boston  Transcript  says  directly:  “It 
would  be  quite  as  interesting  as  anything  in  the  book  to 
know  * * * the  underlying  reasons  for  the  present 
volumes.” 

Here  is  the  answer : I desired  to  draw  a picture  of  royalty 
and  aristocracy  AS  IT  IS  in  order  to  show  the  absurdity  of 
the  prevailing  notions  which  accord  to  those  born  in  the 
purple  more  finesse,  more  highmindedness,  more  charity, 
less  pettiness  and  fewer  faults  of  heart  and  education  than 
to  ordinary  mortals.  The  tendency  of  the  day  is  to  cater  to 
“ the  common  people’s  betters,”  kings  are  exalted  as  demi- 
gods, “ lords  ” and  “ ladies  ” pictured  as  of  superior  stuff 
than  mere  men  and  women. 


At  European  courts  American  ambassadors  dance  at- 
tendance in  the  style  of  dress  the  Vanderbilts  and  Goulds 
impose  upon  their  servants.  Every  little  while  we  read  that 
this  or  that  American  received  an  eagle  or  star  (worth  from 
$1.75  to  99  cents),  which  he  is  “graciously  permitted  by  all- 
highest  warrant”  to  wear  in  his  buttonhole. 

Noble-born  husbands  of  American  girls  draw  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  ten  million  dollars  per  year  out  of  this  country  in 
the  shape  of  dowries,  appanages  and  blackmail,  cheerfully 
paid  by  American  citizens.  The  corridors  of  the  great  New 
York,  Boston,  Chicago,  San  Francisco,  etc.,  hotels  are  peopled 
all  the  year  around  by  scions  of  “ great  European  houses,” 
eager  to  trade  off  their  ridiculous  coronets. 

Why  are  so^  many  of  them  successful,  why  do  increasing 
numbers  of  aristocratic  notions  find  favor  with  us,  why  is  it 
that  the  “400”  cajole  every  unknown  foreign  prince,  duke 
or  count,  come  to  these  shores,  up  to  the  very  hour  he  takes 
service  as  coachman  or  waiter? 

Because  American  society  is  fast  losing  its  self-respect, 
because  republican  simplicity  is  becoming  a thing  of  the  past, 
because  we  are  beginning  to  look  upon  royalty,  and  its  hered- 
itary servants  as  superior  beings,  distinguished  for  gifts  of 
mind  and  fine  sentiments  we  ourselves  lack. 


THE  AUTHOR  TO  HIS  CRITICS 


“ PRIVATE  LIVES  OF  WILLIAM  II/’  etc.,  was  written 
to  counteract  these  un-American  ideas ; it  was  written  to  show, 
by  comparison,  how  far  superior  the  virile  American  repub- 
lican race  is  to  decaying  royalty  and  nobility. 

If  the  work  seems  to  betray  hatred  of  royalty  it  is,  to  quote 
Taine,  “ less  because  royalty  oppresses  man,  than  because  it 
corrupts  him;  because,  in  deforming  social  life,  it  deforms 
private  life,  because,  in  establishing  injustice,  it  establishes 
vice because,  after  having  made  itself  man’s  master,  it 
wrecks  his  manhood. 

My  secondary  purpose  was  to  portray  the  German  Court 
and  Government  for  the  benefit  of  American  statesmen.  That 
our  next  national  struggle  will  be  with  Germany  the  men  of 
the  United  States  army  and  navy  firmly  believe,  even  if  the 
powers  at  the  helm  deem  it  good  policy  to  deny  it.  The  very 
best  preparation  for  war  is  to  know  the  enemy,  not  only  con- 
cerning troops  and  resources,  but  particularly  concerning  the 
character  of  the  men  in  the  lead. 

Several  critics  upbraided  the  writer  for  “ uncharitable- 
ness.” Their  strictures  are  well  deserved,  I admit,  but  the 
purpose  I had  in  mind  prohibited  sentimental  considerations. 
For  the  delectation  of  those  “ who  dearly  love  a lord  ” there 
are  hundreds  of  books  on  Emperor  William,  books  of  the 
“ sad  sort,  which,  with  pain  and  difficulty,  teach  us  nothing 
* * * .filling  the  mind  with  mere  dust-whirlwinds  ” 

I aimed  to  write  a human  book  such  as  the  Memoirs  of  the 
Margravine  of  Bayreuth. 

The  gifted  sister  of  Frederick  the  Great  indicted  a far  more 
terrible  arraignment  of  royalty  and  aristocracy  than  I,  yet 
the  foremost  historian  of  German  Court  Life  calls  it  a 
“ veracious  book  of  veracity  deeper  than  the  superficial  sort, 
done  from  eyesight  and  insight  and  being  above  intending  to 
deceive.”  If  a member  of  a royal  family  permits  herself  to 
give  an  unvarnished  portrait  of  royalty,  why  not  a mere 
plebeian?  Mark  Twain  once  told  me:  he  went  to  Bayreuth 
“ not  to  go  to  pieces  ” before  Wagner,  but  to  worship  at  the 
shrine  of  that  greatest  iconoclast  of  kingship,  the  Margra- 
vine,” the  friend  of  Voltaire  and  other  men  of  superlative 
genius. 

One  critic  insists  that  “ matters  of  the  kind  published  in 
PRIVATE  LIVES  OF  WILLIAM  II.  etc.,  should  be  kept 
secret.”  I have  already  pointed  out  that  royalty  itself  thought 
differently.  “Ancient  history,”  you  say.  Not  at  all.  In  the 
early  eighties,  H.  R.  H.  Princess  Christian  of  Schleswig-Hol- 
stein, a daughter  of  the  late  Queen  Victoria,  translated  the 
Margravine’s  Memoirs  into  English,  dedicating  the  work  to 
“ her  beloved  brother-in-law,  Emperor  Frederick  of  Germany, 
King  of  Prussia.” 


THE  AUTHOR  TO  HIS  CRITICS 


Here  we  have  a daughter  of  the  foremost  royal  family  of 
Europe,  Englishing  “ the  most  terrible  arraignment  of  royalty 
ever  printed,”  and  the  German  emperor  accepts  the  dedication 
of  the  ” wholesome  and  wholesale  criticism  of  his  ancestors.” 

Strange  to  say,  Mr.  Howells,  the  dean  of  American  letters, 
discovered  the  desirability  of  giving  to  the  Anglo-Saxon 
world  a true  picture  of  crowned  heads  at  about  the  same 
time  as  Her  Royal  Highness.  The  scholarly  James  R.  Osgood 
of  Boston,  now  dead,  issued  Mr.  Howell’s  translation  of  the 
Margravine’s  Memoirs. 

Thackeray’s  “ P'our  Georges  ” may  be  cited  as  affording 
additional  proof  of  the  legitimacy  of  historical  memoirs  of  the 
kind  of  “ PRIVATE  LIVES  OF  WILLIAM  H,”  etc. 

When  the  author  of  Pendennis  ” and  “ Vanity  Fair  ” lec- 
tured on  the  British  unspeakables  before  New  York  and 
Boston  audiences,  most  of  the  relatives  and  companions  of  the 
last  George  were  still  alive,  and  the  lecturer  opened  his  talk 
with  the  remark  that  “ only  a very  few  years  since  ” he  knew 
familiarly  a lady  who  had  been  asked  in  marriage  by  Horace 
Walpole,  the  contemporary  of  George  the  First,  At  the  risk 
of  being  thought  immodest,  it  is  further  pointed  out  that 
the  author  of  the  “ Four  Georges,”  like  the  author  of  the 
“PRIVATE  LIVES  OF  WILLIAM  II”  “was  taken  to 
task,”  for  not  having  given  grave  historical  treatises,  talking 
of  the  “ manners  and  life  of  the  court  rather  than  of  politics 
and  measures  of  state.” 

Some  critics  insist  that  “PRIVATE  LIVES  OF  WIL- 
LIAM II  ” is  not  history  because  it  is  merely  “ secret  his- 
tory.” I would  fain  dispute  so  authoritative  a statement  by 
arguments  of  my  own  — I might  be  thought  prejudiced  — and 
quote  from  D’Israeli’s  “TRUE  SOURCES  OF  SECRET 
HISTORY:”  “Secret  history  is  the  supplement  of  history 
itself  and  its  great  corrector;  and  the  combination  of  secret 
with  public  history  has  in  itself  a perfection  which  each 
taken  separately  has  not.  The  popular  historian  composes  a 
plausible  rather  than  an  accurate  tale,  * * * but  in  secret 
history  we  are  more  busied  in  seeing  what  passes  than  in 
being  told  of  it. 

“ * * * Let  me  inform  * * * ^bat  the  waiting  woman 
and  the  valet  of  eminent  persons  are  sometimes  no  unim- 
portant personages  in  history.  The  absolute  necessity  of 
researches  into  secret  history  to  correct  the  appearance  and 
the  fallacies  which  so  often  deceive  us  in  public  history  is 
abundantly  proved.” 

The  critics  who  claim  that  I painted  only  the  DARK  SIDE 
of  courtly  life,  I beg  to  remind  of  what  Noah  Webster  said 
when  the  old  maid  upbraided  him  for  “putting  all  the  nasty 
words  in  his  dictionary.” 

“ Sorry,”  quoth  Noah,  “ to  hear  that  you  were  looking  for 
them.” 


THE  AUTHOR  TO  HIS  CRITICS 


AS  TO  THE  COUNTESS  EPPINGHOVEN. 

A very  generous  reviewer  says  Madame,  the  Countess  von 
Eppinghoven  would  be  “ indeed  a marvel  and  a lost  genius  ” 
if  she  had  written  the  volumes  under  discussion. 

Allow  me  to  say,  that  the  Countess  did  not  write  “ WIL- 
LIAM II,”  that  I wrote  the  book,  word  for  word,  introduction 
and  all.  But  the  Countess  furnished  the  ammunition,  valu- 
able and  otherwise  inaccessible  information,  all  of  which  I 
verified.  While  most  of  the  information  regarding  the  inner 
life  of  the  court  is  the  Countess’s,  I am  responsible  for  the 
political  side-lights  and  excursions  into  history,  contempo- 
raneous and  otherwise. 

The  reviewer  of  the  New  York  Commercial  Advertiser 
marvels  that  he  has  not  heard  of  a “ satiric  talent  of  such 
capacity  ” as  I seem  to  possess  before. 

I will  tell  him,  sub  rosa,  that  I am  extremely  fond  of  the 
good  things  of  this  life,  and  that  consequently  I devote  my 
energies  to  the  newspaper  work  most  in  demand,  instead  of 
aspiring  to  “ literature  ” which,  alas,  but  too  often  goes  hand 
in  hand  with  frayed  collars  and  a general  air  of  enforced 
untidiness.  Besides,  magazine  editors  and  publishers’  read- 
ers, learning  that  I was  not  born  in  this  country,  concluded 
that  I “ cannot  write  English.”  I could  name  a large  Chicago 
publishing  house  that  felt  so  sorry  for  me  on  account  of  my 
“ bad  English  ” that  it  actually  offered  to  have  my  book  re- 
written by  one  of  its  hacks,  and  publish  it  over  my  name. 
The  proof  sheets  of  “ WILLIAM  II,”  submitted  to  publishers 
in  various  parts  of  the  country,  are  full  of  suggestions,  tend- 
ing toward  improvement  and  correction  of  my  style.  One 
generous  publisher’s  reader  was  good  enough  to  offer  fifteen 
synonymns  for  the  word  “ abolished  ” that  appears  in  a 
quotation  from  Carlyle. 

I pleaded  that  Carlyle  might  be  allowed  to  have  his  way, 
but  the  publisher’s  reader  answered  sternly,  that  the  improve- 
ment of  Carlyle’s  style  was  absolutely  necessary  to  make  old 
Thomas  readable  in  these  enlightened  days.  In  this  connec- 
tion, it  may  be  of  interest  to  state  that  I never  learned 
English  in  the  regular  way,  never  had  an  English  grammar 
and  only  acquired  a dictionary  when  I began  to  translate 
Von  Moltke’s  works. 

I came  to  this  country  at  the  age  of  20,  primed  with  knowl- 
edge of  Greek,  Latin,  Hebrew  and  French.  After  looking 
around  I resolved  to  throw  all  that  overboard  and  devote 
rnyself  to  English,  pure  and  simple  as  I found  it  in  conversa- 
tion, in  the  newspapers,  theatres,  magazines  and  books.  Car- 
lyle, Macaulay,  and  Thackeray  were  my  real  instructors  in 
English,  but  as  to  grammar  proper  — I do  not  know  anything 
about  it. 


THE  AUTHOR  TO  HIS  CRITICS 


This  humiliating  fact  I kept  carefully  to  myself  — until 
now  — but  the  puWishers’  readers  found  it  out  just  the  same 
— hence  their  pity  and  contempt.  On  the  whole,  the  pub- 
lishers’ readers  were  very  much  disgusted  with  the  “ for- 
eigner,” and  as  to  the  facts  presented,  to  cite  only  one  in- 
stance; the  manuscript  of  “WILLIAM  II”  was  rejected  by 
a big  New  York  and  London  house  because  its  reader  could 
not,  and  would  not,  believe  that  such  a thing  as  the  Court 
Marshal’s  refusal  to  allow  a Royal  Highness  a glass  of 
Madeira  for  second  breakfast,  was  within  the  possibilities. 

Experience  in  offering  “ WILLIAM  II  ” led  me  to  con- 
clude that  if  publishers’  readers  had  their  way,  there  would 
be  no  literature  but  grammars,  and  no  history  but  milk 
and  water. 

HENRY  W.  FISCHER. 

Bensonhurst,  New  York. 


0 


INTRODUCTION  BY  URSULA,  COUNTESS  VON 
EPPINGHOVEN 


^^Vive  le  roi croaked  the  imperial  standard  floating 
over  the  gray  old  Berlin  Schloss  when  I alighted  from  my 
carriage  at  the  Court-marshal’s  gate  to  report  for  duty  on 
June  25,  1888,  and  ‘‘Long  live  the  King  !”  breathed  and 
echoed  all  the  new  brooms  and  old  around  me  in  the  ante- 
chambers, in  the  state  and  in  the  living  and  servants’  apart- 
ments of  that  immense  pile.  Yonder,  just  across  the  Pup- 
penbrucke,  at  half-mast  and  draped  in  black,  were  seen  the 
flags  of  two  Queens,  a widow  of  three  and  a half  months 
the  one,  the  other  had  buried  the  noblest  of  husbands 
but  ten  days  before.  Their  palaces,  which  scarcely  ever 
possessed  the  brazen  front  of  right  royal  splendor,  appeared 
deserted,  gloomy,  and  melancholy  beyond  hope  as  the 
emblem  of  death  wafted  above  them;  but  with  us — the 
new  masters — all  was  life  and  excitement  (being  now  a sal- 
aried body-attendant  of  the  reigning  Empress,  I must  needs 
adopt  the  servant-hall  jargon  to  make  myself  popular  with 
the  rest) — we  kept  house  on  a small  scale  and  on  scanty  ra- 
tions in  the  little  Potsdam  Marble  Palace^  long  enough  ; one 
Court-marshal  (Major  von  Liebenau),  one  Grande  Mai- 
tresse  (Countess  Brockdorff),  was  all  we  could  afford ; but, 
presto!  there  will  be  First  Grand  Charges,  Grand  Charges, 


^ The  Marble  Palace  was  the  official  residence  of  Prince  and  Princess 
William  up  to  the  death  of  Emperor  Frederick. 


IX 


X 


INTRODUCTION 


and  Charges  of  our  Court  presently,  Equerries  by  the  dozen, 
and  Chamberlains  galore  ! And  Her  Imperial  and  Royal 
Majesty,  the  Princess  William  that  was,  to  whom  Herr 
von  Liebenau  only  three  months  ago  refused  a glass  of 
Madeira  for  second  breakfast  on  the  plea  that  his  ex- 
chequer could  not  afford  luxuries  of  that  sort,  the  Kaiser’s 
Frau  shall  have  as  many  women  adjutants  as  the  Emperor 
has  males.  And  we  will  tear  down  this  very  Schloss,  build 
cathedrals  and  play-houses  and  yachts,  and  be  done  with 
the  whole  small-beer  business  of  yielding  to  a budget ; we 
will,  in  fine,  spend  the  forty  millions  of  our  royal  inheri- 
tance ! 

Such  were  the  prevailing  sentiments  in  the  sphere  I had 
entered ; not  unfamiliar  ones,  by  any  means,  for  the  events 
just  concluded  had  been  under  discussion  in  the  Marble 
Palace  for  years,  and  so  frequently  and  openly  had  they 
passed  in  review  that  even  to  see  them  in  print  would  not 
have  surprised  me.  Yet  the  bartering  and  marketing  of 
dead  men’s  shoes  carried  on  within  ear- shot  of  the  royal 
widows  by  my  new  colleagues  and  everybody  else  in  the 
palace,  from  Court-marshal  to  scullion, — this  haggling  and 
huckstering  outraged  all  my  finer  sensibilities.  I had  seen 
royalty  born,  and  had  helped  to  distribute  its  garter  on 
the  wedding-eve ; I had  stood  at  its  death-bed,  and  in  royal 
company  had  enjoyed  the  good  things  of  this  world, — in 
fact,  the  greater  part  of  my  life  had  been  spent  at  Court ; 
but  where  formerly  I was  welcomed  as  a friend  and  com- 
panion, I was  now — such  are  the  vicissitudes  of  life — merely 
one  of  a few  hundred  attendants.  Was,  then,  Madame  de 
Cornuel’s  adage,  that  no  great  man  is  perfect  in  his  valet’s 
eyes,  to  be  brought  home  to  me  with  terrible  force  right  at 
the  beginning  ? 

“These  people,”  I argued  to  myself,  “are  like  sponges, 
absorbing  the  atmosphere  of  their  environment,  being  at 


INTRODUCTION 


XI 


the  same  time  too  careful  of  their  own  interests  to  assume 
an  attitude  out  of  countenance  with  that  of  their  betters. 
Can  it  be  that  I have  mistaken  the  character  of  the  august 
personages  upon  whom  the  eyes  of  the  whole  world  are  now 
riveted,  and  who  are  likely  to  engage  the  most  lively  atten- 
tion hereafter  ? ’ ’ 

A lady  of  title  and  position,  I had,  after  losing  my 
fortune,  accepted  their  Majesties’  command  to  join  the 
ranks  of  a retinue  already  noted  for  high-sounding  names, 
and  by  royal  warrant  was  appointed  Hofcia^ne  to  the  Em- 
press; that  is,  a functionary  whom  ‘‘the  first  gentleman  of 
Europe”  cleverly  characterized  as  “making  an  occasional 
one  of  four  large  hoops  in  a gilded  coach ; a maid  aiding 
the  languor  of  an  easy  party  in  a royal  box  at  the  play ; one 
that  goes  to  the  theatre,  to  concerts,  and  oratorios  gratis, 
and  has  physicians  without  fees  and  medicine  without  drug- 
gists’ bills.”  "Was  I to  be  that,  and  nothing  more?  The 
voice  of  Court-marshal  von  Liebenau,  now  my  superior, 
woke  me  from  the  reverie  into  which  I had  fallen.  The 
lord  steward,  at  that  time  omnipotent,  had  settled  upon 
my  immediate  employment.  “You  will  for  the  present 
assume  the  functions  of  both  Maitresse  de  Matson  and 
maid  of  honor,”  he  said.  “ It  is  a ticklish  post,  that  binds 
one  closely  to  their  Majesties’  heels,  inasmuch  as  the  care 
of  the  all-highest  persons  is  given  into  your  hands,  for  it 
has  already  been  announced  that  there  will  be  no  change 
in  the  intimate  domestic  arrangements.  Kaiser  and  Kai- 
serin  will  continue  to  occupy  one  bed-chamber  as  formerly 
and  you  must  superintend  the  body-service  of  both  the 
all-highest  master  and  mistress;  but  as  Your  Ladyship 
has  lived  in  the  great  world,  and  knows  more  about  polite 
requirements  than  many  a Princess,  the  aspect  will  not 
frighten  you;  for  my  part,  I place  implicit  trust  in  your 
acumen  and  judgment.  Later  in  the  day,  a list  of  special 


Xll 


INTRODUCTION 


instructions  will  be  sent  to  you.  And  now,  my  dear  Count- 
ess,” concluded  the  courtier,  rising  from  his  arm-chair, 
^‘take  a bit  of  friendly  advice  before  you  select  your  suite 
of  rooms  among  the  apartments  set  aside  for  Her  Majesty’s 
ladies.  If  you  want  to  succeed  at  our  Court,  leave  all 
thoughts  of  independence,  all  inborn  notions  of  truthful- 
ness and  common,  every-day  honesty,  outside  the  palace 
gate ; divest  yourself  of  personality — all  individualism  save 
that  of  our  masters’  is  odious — be  an  automaton  pure  and 
simple,  smile  upon  Her  Majesty’s  whims,  do  not  be  ruffled 
by  a superior’s  insults,  and  if  at  any  time  you  must  fly  into 
a rage,  retaliate  upon  those  under  you.  ’ ’ 

I was  about  to  speak,  to  protest,  but  the  Court-marshal 
anticipated  me. 

know  what  you  want  to  say,”  he  cried;  ‘^you  think 
it  mean  and  contemptible  to  let  the  innocent  suffer  for 
their  betters’  wrongs,  and  I agree  with  you.  But  we  all 
do  it,  must  do  it;  it  is  a sort  of  lightning-rod  for  one’s 
ill-temper.  And  now,  au  revoir,  Madame  la  Comtesse. 
Once  more — be  an  automaton.”  With  that  Herr  von  Lie- 
benau  kissed  my  hand,  and  a minute  later  I stood  in  the 
court-yard  quite  beside  myself  with  wrathful  indignation. 

True  enough,  I was  to  become  one  of  so  many  hoops,” 
and  might  consider  myself  lucky  if  not  forced  to  degen- 
erate into  something  worse  ! 

The  principal  square  within  the  palace,  which  is  adorned 
by  Kiss’s  noble  bronze  group  of  St.  George  and  the 
Dragon,  was  gay  with  carriages  and  soldiery  in  parade- 
dress,  and  as  I crossed  it  on  my  way  to  another  wing  of 
the  castle  I came  within  range  of  a large  volume  of  voices 
shouting  Hochf"  and  ‘‘Hurrah  ! ” in  enthusiastic  chorus; 
they  belonged  to  members  of  the  Reichstag  assembled  in 
the  White  Hall  to  pay  homage  to  the  new  lord,  as  one  of 
the  officers  on  guard  informed  me. 


INTRODUCTION 


Xlll 


^^His  Majesty’s  most  loyal  opposition  appears  to  enjoy 
the  situation,  ’ ’ I remarked. 

Pshaw!  ” retorted  the  aristocratic  warrior,  with  a dis- 
dainful curl  of  his  lip,  ^^Gnddige  Frau  would  not  be  sur- 
prised at  that  if,  like  myself,  you  had  been  privileged  to 
hear  His  Majesty  rehearse  the  speech  he  seems  to  have  just 
now  delivered.  It  came  late  last  night,  still  warm,  if  I 
may  so  express  myself,  from  the  Chancellor’s  palace.  The 
Prince  ” (meaning  Bismarck) — ‘^that  was  the  consensus  of 
opinion — surpassed  all  his  previous  efforts  in  the  wheed- 
ling line  by  this  diplomatic  document,  which  fairly  blazes 
with  assurances  of  constitutional  government  and  the  im- 
portance of  peaceful  legislation.  The  Kaiser  read  it  aloud 
to  his  adjutants,  and  all  were  greatly  edified,  I assure  you.” 

Another  volley  of  popular  applause  burst  at  this  moment 
overhead,  and  soon  afterward  the  deputies  began  to  de- 
scend from  the  state  apartments  in  their  funny  old-fashioned 
swallow-tail  coats,  dickies,  paper  collars,  and  brilliant  dec- 
orations. Among  those  who  recognized  and  came  up  to  greet 
me  was  the  spokesman  of  one  of  the  liberal  parties,  or  frac- 
tions of  parties,  that  heretofore  had  been  among  the  ardent 
and  loud-voiced  admirers  of  Emperor  Frederick.  Indeed,  it 
was  not  quite  a month  since  I had  heard  him  say  to  a con- 
servative colleague:  Your  Prince  William  is  nothing  but 
a tool  of  ^Hqfpfaffen  ’ and  Anti-Semites.  No  honest  man 
can  have  confidence  in  him.”  To-day  this  worthy  politi- 
cian appeared  stocked  to  overflowing  with  cheap  senti- 
mentality about  the  very  royal  person  he  had  essayed  to 
abhor.  I turned  from  him  and  other  noisy  weather-cocks 
“that  rattled  and  sang  of  mutation”  and  fled  to  my 
rooms,  taking  the  first  of  the  row  of  apartments  the  lackey 
opened  for  my  inspection.  I had  not  the  heart  to  go  far- 
ther. A good  cry,  I felt,  would  benefit  me  more  than  the 
advantages  that  some  of  the  other  suites  might  possess. 


XIV 


INTRODUCTION 


How  this  one  hour’s  experience  at  Court,  in  my  new  ca- 
pacity, had  unnerved  me  ! If  it  had  not  been  for  the 
promises  made  to  their  Majesties,  I should  have  flown 
from  the  gilded  cage  that  very  instant;  but  what  was  to 
be  gained  by  offering  an  affront  to  my  august  master  and 
mistress?  I had  to  live,  Talleyrand  notwithstanding,  and 
if  servitude  in  a palace  was  fraught  with  such  setbacks, 
what  would  it  be  in  private  life?  After  all,  “society  is 
divided  into  two  classes,— the  fleecers  and  the  fleeced,” 
and,  assuredly,  it  is  better  to  belong  to  the  fleecers  or, 
in  this  case,  to  the  fleecers’  Court. 

The  argument  was  abominable,  I grant  {Herr  von  Lie- 
benau  himself,  whom  I soon  learned  to  regard  as  the  most 
selfish  servant  of  the  most  selfish  master,  could  not  have 
advanced  anything  less  dignified  and  more  venal),  but  it 
was  the  sort  of  reasoning  needed  to  back  up  my  waning 
courage.  Once  conceived,  I clung  to  it,  I pampered  it 
and  enlarged  on  it,  and  gradually  my  nerves  quieted  down. 
Throwing  myself  on  a lounge,  I let  refreshing  slumber 
steal  upon  me,  and  did  not  awake  for  several  hours  and 
when  the  bell  of  my  apartment  had  rung  half  a dozen 
times. 

“Your  Ladyship  seems  to  feel  quite  at  home  already,” 
said  Herr  von  Liebenau’s  secretary,  who  brought  the  prom- 
ised instructions,  for  it  was  he  who  demanded  admission ; 
“I  thought  I should  never  succeed  in  awakening  you.  We 
are  all  good  sleepers  in  the  palace,  though,  if  we  get  the 
chance.” 

* * * 

Nearly  nine  years  have  passed  since  I first  cried  myself 
to  sleep  in  the  big  gray  Schloss  by  the  Spree  while  the  hot 
June  sun  was  pouring  into  my  room  and  all  Berlin  dis- 
cussed the  Kaiser’s  first  meeting  with  the  Reichstag ; and 


INTRODUCTION 


XV 


now  that  I commit  to  paper  these  memoirs  of  the  Second 
William’s  Court,  let  me  say  that  in  all  that  period  I was 
but  used  as  a beast  of  burden  by  the  great  personages,  my 
masters,  whom  Providence  sent  into  the  world  “ready 
booted  and  spurred  to  ride,” — no  better,  no  worse. 

Special  reasons  for  complaint  I have  none ; neither  will 
these  pages  wantonly  afford  umbrage  to  the  exalted  ones 
of  whom  I write,  unless,  indeed,  they  object  to  truth,  that 
sentiment  concerning  .which  Dr.  Johnson  wrote  some  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago:  “There  is  something  noble 
in  publishing  it,  though  it  may  condemn  one’s  self.” 

I have  no  personal  end  in  view  with  these  papers;  no 
excuses  are  offered  for  this  narrative  of  Court  life  as  I 
have  seen  it.  If  in  part  it  borders  on  the  unexpected,  by 
upsetting  established  notions,  and  again  explains  certain 
things  which  have  become  history  from  a standpoint 
totally  different  from  the  one  popularly  accepted  and  be- 
lieved, let  the  reader  remember  that  truth  is  stranger  than 
fiction,  and  that  history  is  but  a lie,  to  borrow  a phrase 
from  the  Duchess  of  Orleans,  the  sister-in-law  of  Louis  XV, 
“a  smart  woman,  an  audacious  woman,”  the  same  who 
exclaimed,  on  hearing  the  false  report  that  Frederick  the 
Great  was  marching  upon  Versailles  after  Rossbach:  “So 
much  the  better,  I shall  at  last  see  a King  then.” 

Surely,  no  one  will  deny  that  the  lives  of  the  great 
“lay  accurately  mirrored”  in  the  head  of  that  gifted 
Princess;  if  she  quarrelled  with  their  habitual  reflectors, 
royalty’s  cavalieres  serventes  or  romancers  pure  and  sim- 
ple, it  was  on  account  of  their  general  untrustworthiness. 
If  they  are  historiographers,  like  Mr.  Poultney  Bigelow, 
designated — that  is  a less  harsh  word  than  the  official 
“commanded” — to  write  the  life  of  an  august  personage 
like  Kaiser  William,  the  insight  into  affairs  permitted  such 
authors  is  so  limited  as  to  make  it  almost  valueless  compared 


XVI 


INTRODUCTION 


with  matters  of  which  they  are  kept  in  ignorance.  Writers 
standing  altogether  outside  the  pale  of  the  Court  are  even 
worse  off  for  facts,  save  such  as  may  crystallize  in  a fertile 
brain  nourished  by  book-wisdom  and  weaned  from  truth,  or 
what  is  worse,  from  decency. 

For  my  part,  I shall  give  only  such  incidents  of  the  lives 
of  William  II  and  his  consort  as  have  come  under  my  per- 
sonal observation,  or  that  I know  of  by  reliable  witnesses. 
The  story  of  a very  few  incidents  that  occurred  before 
the  present  Emperor’s  enthronization  I shall  be  obliged  to 
credit  to  the  general  gossip  of  the  palace. 


THE  ROYAL  HOHENZOLLERNS  AND  THEIR 
KINDRED  MENTIONED  IN  THESE 
VOLUMES 


Frederick  I,  first  King  of  Prussia,  1701-1713.  Before  1701  the 
Hohenzollerns  were  known  as  Prince-Electors  of  Brandenburg. 

Frederick  William  I,  1713-1740.  Father  of  Frederick  the  Great. 

Frederick  II,  the  Great,  1740-1786.  His  best-known  sister  was  the 
Margravine  of  Baireuth  (died  in  1757),  authoress  of  the  celebrated 
Memoirs.  Frederick  the  Great  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew : 

Frederick  William  II,  1786-1797.  He  was  the  notorious  bigamist 
and  debt-contractor.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son : 

Frederick  William  HI,  1797-1840.  He  was  the  husband  of  Queen 
Louise,  a Princess  of  Strelitz  (died  in  1810),  and  the  father  of  his 
successors : 

Frederick  William  IV,  1840-1861.  This  King  became  mad  and 
died  childless.  A daughter  of  his  brother  William  (died  1846), 
Princess  Marie,  married  Maximilian  H,  King  of  Bavaria.  Queen 
Marie  (died  1889)  had  two  sons, — Ludwig  II,  King  of  Bavaria, 
who  died  insane  in  1886,  and  the  present  King  Otto  of  Bavaria, 
who  is  also  insane.  Frederick  William  IV  was  succeeded  by  his 
brother : 

William  I,  King,  1861-1888.  Became  German  Emperor  in  1871. 
The  Queen  and  Empress  of  William  I was  Augusta,  Princess  of 
Sachsen- Weimar,  and  a granddaughter  (on  her  mother’s  side)  of 
Czar  Paul  I,  who  died  insane.  William  I had  a daughter,  Louise, 
now  Grand  Duchess  of  Baden,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  : 

Frederick  III,  March-June,  1888.  His  widowed  Empress  and  Queen, 
styled  Empress  Frederick,  is  the  oldest  daughter  of  Queen  Victoria 
of  England,  and  was  born  in  1840.  Her  children  are  : 

xvii 


XVlll  ROYAL  HOHENZOLLERNS  AND  THEIR  KINDRED 


William  II,  Emperor  and  King  since  June,  1888;  Charlotte,  born 
i860.  Hereditary  Princess  of  Sachsen-Meiningen ; Prince  Henry 
of  Prussia,  born  1862,  married  to  Irene  of  Hesse,  sister  of  the 
Czarina;  Victoria,  born  1866,  Princess  of  Lippe ; Sophie,  bom 
1870,  Crown  Princess  of  Greece;  Marguerite,  born  1872,  Prin- 
cess Frederick  Charles  of  Hesse-Cassel.  William  H is  married  to 
Auguste  Victoria,  born  1858,  eldest  daughter  of  Frederick,  Duke 
of  Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg.  The  couple  has 
seven  children,  six  boys  and  one  girl. 

Prince  Frederick  Leopold  of  Prussia  is  the  Kaiser’s  cousin  and 
brother-in-law,  this  Prince  being  married  to  Louise  Sophie,  Prin- 
cess of  Schleswig-Holstein,  sister  of  Empress  Auguste  Victoria. 


The  Princely  Houses  of  Hohenzollern  (Hohenzollern-Hechingen 
and  Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen),  whose  possessions  were  ceded  to 
Prussia  in  1849,  the  royal  line,  descended  from  Rudolph, 

Graf  von  Zollern,  but,  professing  the  Catholic  faith,  have  not  in- 
termarried with  the  royal  line  for  several  centuries.  Members 
of  the  royal  and  princely  lines  call  each  other  “ cousins”  by  cour- 
tesy. 

Charles  Anton,  Prince  of  Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen,  is  married  to 
Antonie,  Royal  Princess  of  Portugal.  His  eldest  son  : 

The  Hereditary  Prince  William,  born  1864,  is  married  to  Therese, 
Princess  of  the  Deux-Siciles.  Prince  Charles  Anton’s  second  son : 

Ferdinand,  Crown  Prince  of  Roumania,  married  Princess  Marie  of 
Edinburgh.  The  Duke,  her  father,  is  now  Duke  of  Sachsen- 
Coburg-Gotha.  A third  son  : 

Carl  Anton,  is  married  to  Josephine,  daughter  of  the  Comte  de  Flan- 
ders. 

Duke  Gunther  of  Schleswig- Holstein- Sonderburg-Augustenburg, 
brother  of  Empress  Auguste  Victoria.  Born  1863.  He  is  the 
fianck  of  Princess  Dorothy  of  Sachsen- Coburg-Kohary,  daughter 
of  Prince  Philip,  Austrian  Field-Marshal,  and  Princess  Louise,  a 
daughter  of  King  Leopold  of  Belgium;  Princess  Louise  has  of 
late  been  declared  insane.  The  mother  of  Prince  Philip  is  Prin- 
cess Clementine,  daughter  of  the  late  Louis-Philippe  of  France. 
The  Prince  of  Bulgaria  is  a younger  brother  of  Prince  Philip. 


ROYAL  HOHENZOLLERNS  AND  THEIR  KINDRED 


XIX 


Prince  Christian,  the  husband  of  Princess  Helene  of  Great  Britain, 
is  an  uncle  of  the  Duke  of  Schleswig  and  of  Empress  Auguste 
Victoria. 

Prince  Christian’s  Brother,  Frederick  (died  July  2, 1865),  mar- 
ried Mary  Lee,  daughter  of  David  Lee,  of  New  York,  November 
30,  1864,  after  assuming  the  Austrian  title  of  Prinz  von  Noer. 

Princess  von  Noer,  his  widow,  who,  by  this  marriage,  became  the 
aunt  of  the  German  Empress,  married,  on  April  14,  1874,  Gene- 
ral— now  Field-Marshal — Graf  von  Waldersee. 

Duchess  Adelaide  of  Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, 
mother  of  the  German  Empress,  is  a Princess  of  Hohenlohe- 
Langenburg,  and  a cousin  of  Prince  Hohenlohe,  the  Chancellor 
of  the  German  Empire. 


THE  KAISER 


CHAPTER  I 


Is  it  a fine  boy  ? 

“ Victoria.” 

But  one  person,  Major  von  Normann,  of  the  First 
Guards,  was  present,  when,  on  June  15,  1888,  at  noon, 
scarcely  an  hour  after  the  gallant  Frederick  had  breathed 
his  last,  the  new  lord  drew  the  above  despatch  from  his 
father’s  papers. 

What  did  His  Majesty  say  on  discovering  the  Queen’s 
telegram?”  I asked  Normann  at  the  Emperor’s  funeral. 

^^Not  a word;  yet,  if  possible,  he  turned  a shade  paler, 
while  his  left  hand  convulsively  closed  around  the  hilt  of 
his  sabre.  ’ ’ 

Every  time  a Prussian  king  dies,  a spirit  of  unspeakable 
savagery  seems  to  take  hold  of  his  lawful  successor. 

‘Mn  Berlin,  from  Tuesday,  May  31,  1740,  the  day  of 
the  late  Majesty’s  death,  till  the  Thursday  following,  the 
post  was  stopped  and  the  gates  closed ; no  estafette  could 
be  despatched,  though  all  the  ambassadors  were  busy  writ- 
ing,” says  Carlyle  in  his  “Frederick  the  Great.”  The 
present  Kaiser’s  great-grandfather  placed  his  sire’s  mistress 
and  all  her  friends  and  relatives  under  arrest  the  moment 
Frederick  William  H died;  and  the  Empress  Frederick, 
her  daughters,  the  members  of  her  Court,  her  physicians, 
friends,  and  servants,  were  prisoners  for  many  hours,  begin- 
ning at  five  minutes  past  eleven  o’clock,  on  June  15,  1888. 
Until  her  son  and  heir  had  concluded  his  investigations 

3 


4 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


and  made  all  arrangements  he  intended  to  effect,  no  living 
soul  was  allowed  to  leave  Castle  Friedrichskron ; sentinels 
with  guns  loaded  stood  over  the  telegraph  operators  to  pre- 
vent communication  with  the  outer  world,  and  the  telephone 
was  similarly  guarded. 

That  upon  the  heel  of  these  precautionary  measures  the 
newly-made  Kaiser  invited  Normanni  to  attend  him  in  his 
search  for  state  papers  and  other  documents,  of  which  the 
one  mentioned,  while  not  the  most  valuable,  was  certainly 
not  the  least  interesting,  shows  the  extent  of  his  confidence 
in  this  man,  then  esteemed  the  strictest  disciplinarian  of 
his  ‘‘corps,”  but  in  no  other  way  distinguished. 

I would  not  like  to  assert  that  the  imperial  proclamations 
to  the  army  and  to  the  navy,  dated  Schloss  Friedrichskron, 
June  15,  1888,  were  composed  with  von  Normann’s  assist- 
ance while  impatient  crowds  surrounded  the  palace,  moan- 
ing and  crying  for  news  of  the  good  king  whom  they 
vaguely  supposed  to  be  dead — the  Major,  with  whom  I was 
very  well  acquainted,  has  always  been  discreetly  silent  on 
that  point; — but  these  papers  are  so  full  of  barrack  bra- 
vado and  calm  contempt  for  everything  not  military  as  to 
strongly  suggest  some  such  influence ; a moral  ascendency 
may  indeed  have  insinuated  itself  by  von  Normann’s  very 
presence  at  that  particular  time. 

“Thus  we  belong  to  each  other, — I and  the  army, — thus 
we  were  born  for  each  other,  and  thus  we  will  stick  to  each 
other  forever,  be  there  peace  or  storm,  as  God  wills  it.” 

And  while  the  army  was  honored  and  exalted  beyond 
its  proudest  expectations  on  the  very  day  of  Frederick’s 
death,  the  loyal,  tax-paying  people  had  to  wait  for  the  cus- 
tomary royal  greeting,  and  a word  of  information  on  the 
issues  of  the  day,  until  the  1 8th  of  the  month  ! 

To  absolve  the  Kaiser  from  part  of  the  blame  in  this 
matter  is  not  only  charitable  but  just,  considering  that  His 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


5 


Majesty’s  supposed  collaborateur,  who  died  in  September, 
1890,  by  his  own  hand,  was,  in  July,  1888,  already  afflicted 
with  the  species  of  moral  insanity  that  hastened  his  de- 
mise. After  the  death  of  the  favorite,  medical  experts  no 
longer  hesitated  to  say  that  von  Normann’s  famous  rigor- 
ousness had  really  been  monomania  of  vanity,  while  his 
brusqueness  and  cruelty  were  nothing  short  of  impulsive 
madness,  that  furthermore  developed  a series  of  foul  crimes. 
The  impression,  therefore,  that  the  present  Kaiser’s  first 
official  acts  were  those  of  a disordered  brain,  unstates- 
manlike, heedless,  and  offensive,  is  scarcely  without  foun- 
dation in  fact,  seeing  that  a madman  stood  sponsor  to 
them. 

But  to  return  to  Queen  Victoria’s  telegram. 

It  was  dated  January  28,  1859,  twenty-four  hours  after 
the  eldest  son  of  Crown  Prince  and  Crown  Princess  Fred- 
erick-William  had  seen  the  light ; twenty-four  hours,  too, 
after  Berlin  witnessed  a royal  Hohenzollern’s  race  down 
the  Linden  in  a Droschke, — events  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance both,  and  the  last  rather  more  unusual  than  the  other. 
The  hero  of  the  cab  incident  was  the  Regent,  Prince  of 
Prussia,  afterward  King  William  I,  who,  hearing  the  glad 
tidings  of  the  preservation  of  his  dynasty  while  engaged  at 
the  foreign  office,  hailed  the  first  public  conveyance  that 
came  along  and  proceeded  to  his  son’s  residence  with  as 
much  haste  and  with  no  more  ceremony  than  any  well-to-do 
burgher  might  have  done. 

And,  mind  you,  that  happened  nearly  forty  years  ago, 
when  the  idea  that  ‘^man  starts  into  being  with  the  baron  ” 
held  great  sway  in  German-speaking  countries,  and  when 
the  Berlin  Court  was  one  of  the  most  formal  in  existence. 
Still,  with  all  that,  the  birth  of  a king  was,  and  is,  rather 
an  ordinary  affair  in  Prussia,  quite  the  reverse  of  such  an 
event  as  a death  in  the  royal  family. 


6 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


In  England,  royal  babes  have  grand  governors”  and 
* deputy  governors,”  a wet  nurse  and  several  dry  nurses, 
a first  and  second  “rocker,”  and  days  before  the  event  is 
supposed  to  come  off  the  great  state  officials,  including  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  assemble  in  the  palace.  And 
when,  at  last,  the  royal  mother  is  taken  in  labor,  these  in- 
vited witnesses  stand  in  an  apartment  adjoining  the  lying- 
in-room,  close  to  its  only  door,  that  must  be  ajar  to  make 
the  birth  lawful,  and  all  because  there  is  some  doubt  about 
the  paternity,  or  maternity  if  you  prefer,  of  certain  British 
rulers. 

How  different  it  is  with  us  ! Though  our  closets  be  no 
less  stocked  with  skeletons  than  those  of  the  Stuarts  and 
Guelphs, — the  great  Frederick,  author  of  the  epigram : 
“if  I have  reason  to  believe  that  Michael  instead  of  John 
filled  the  tart,  why  should  I blame  the  result,  and  who 
cares  whether  the  filling  is  pigeon  or  grouse,  as  long  as 
the  pie  is  good?” — this  Hohenzollern,  when  a youth,  was 
more  than  once  threatened  with  death  by  his  royal  father 
because  that  gentleman  failed  to  appreciate  the  philosophism 
that  it  is  ridiculous  to  hunt  for  the  sire  of  a prince,  provided 
that  prince  is  no  blockhead.  And  that  Katte  was  the  lover 
of  Princess  Wilhelmina,  better  known  as  the  Margravine  of 
Bayreuth,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  King  of  Prussia, 
when  signing  his  death-warrant,  said:  “that  scoundrel 
ought  to  be  burnt  with  pincers  and  hanged,”  which  was  a 
mode  of  execution  applicable  only  to  prisoners  of  noble 
birth  that  had  defiled  the  royal  bed.  These  Hohenzollerns, 
I said,  being  no  better  than  the  Guelphs,  might,  with  even 
more  justification,  employ  some  punctiliousness  at  the  birth 
of  their  princes,  but  they  do  not. 

William  was  born  d la  bourgeois^  and  quite  economically, 
a midwife  receiving  him,  and  a Court  physician,  assisted 
by  the  then  highly-reputed  Berlin  specialist  for  woman’s 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


7 


diseases,  the  late  Dr.  Martin,  looking  gravely  on  after  the 
manner  of  his  kind. 

In  Germany,  you  must  know,  a doctor  thinks  it  be- 
neath himself  to  take  the  child,  and  is  supposed  to  act 
only  in  case  grave  complications  arise;  nine  times  out  of 
ten  he  contents  himself  by  superintending  the  arrange- 
ments and  in  seeing  that  the  sanitary  laws  are  complied 
with  in  all  minuteness;  the  midwife  does  the  work. 

In  the  case  of  the  Crown  Princess  of  Prussia,  Fraulein 
Stahl  acted  as  sage-femme ; she  is  now  a motherly  woman, 
and  still  continues  her  visits  to  the  palace ; so  I often  had 
occasion  to  talk  with  her  about  the  great  event  of  her  life. 

^‘Her  poor  Royal  Highness,”  says  the  old  Fraulein, 

was  only  two  months  past  eighteen  years  at  the  time,  and 
very  weak  and  nervous.  You  see,  with  her  it  was  not  an 
ordinary  case  of  first  motherhood ; politics  were  mixed  up 
in  it  to  a frightful  degree,  and  the  poor  young  thing  felt 
the  fate  of  Europe  trembling  in  her  lap,  as  it  were,  for  our 
good  king  was  as  crazy  as  a March  hare,  and  twenty-one 
years  had  passed  since  a heba7?ime  was  called  to  the  Prince 
Regent’s  house  to  bring  into  the  world  little  Louise,  now 
the  Grand  Duchess  of  Baden. 

^^Our  work  had  been  divided  as  follows:  Dr.  Martin 
was  to  have  special  care  of  Her  Royal  Highness,  inasmuch 
as  he  was  treating  her  for  a nervous  malady;  the  Court 
physician  had  to  perform  the  ordinary  duties  for  the  all- 
highest  patient,  while  I was  commanded  to  take  the  child. 
But  the  moment  the  little  one  was  born  a despairing  moan 
from  the  mother  overthrew  all  these  fine  dispositions. 

‘^^The  Crown  Princess  is  dying’ — ‘she  is  paying  dearly 
for  her  son,’  whispered  the  doctors,  while  working  with 
blanched  faces  over  the  prostrate  body.  Of  course,  I had  to 
abandon  the  child  momentarily  to  help  them,  and  when — 
the  Crown  Princess  having  revived  after  a little  while — I 


8 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


knelt  down  before  the  couch  on  which  our  heir  rested, 
imagine  my  fright : he  had  not  yet  uttered  a cry,  nor  did 
he  move  a muscle.  * Still-born,  by  Heaven  ! ’ I thought.  A 
gesture  brought  Dr.  Martin  to  my  side,  and  together  we 
labored  over  the  newly-born,  I do  not  know  how  long, 
exhausting  successively  every  means  ordained  by  medical 
books,  or  practised  in  the  nursery,  to  bring  the  child  to 
life.'’ 

I will  state  here,  parenthetically,  that  the  Fraulein  Stahl 
of  to-day  is  a very  dignified  woman,  broad  and  short,  and, 
on  the  whole,  of  an  excessively  grumpy  disposition.  Very 
seldom  does  she  smile;  but  those  working  with  her,  or 
under  her  directions,  claim  that  her  forbidding  face  hides 
a nature  full  of  charity  and  kindness.  However  true  that 
may  be,  the  old  dame  recounts  her  story  to  the  point  given, 
always  with  the  grandezza  becoming  to  a person  of  her 
worth ; but,  as  she  continues,  her  face  broadens  with  merri- 
ment, and  her  famous  basso  resounds  through  the  room  with 
a break  here  and  there  that  comes  very  near  a laugh. 

‘‘  When  everything  had  been  done  that  in  decency  could 
be  done,”  so  runs  her  narrative,  “I  took  that  royal  young- 
ster under  my  left  arm,  and,  grabbing  a wet  towel  in  my 
right,  began  to  belabor  him  in  good  homely  fashion, 
though  the  doctors  groaned  and  everybody  in  the  room 
looked  horrified. 

*^^To  the  devil  with  etiquette,'  I thought,  seeing  their 
grimaces ; * this  is  a matter  of  life  or  death.'  So  I spanked 
away,  now  lighter,  now  harder,  slap,  slap,  slap,  until — the 
cannons  announcing  the  birth  in  the  Lustgarten  yonder 
had  about  half  finished  their  official  quota  of  a hundred 
and  one  shots — until  at  last  a faint  cry  broke  from  the 
young  one's  pallid  lips. 

He  was  alive ! I had  snatched  our  Prince  from  the 
grave  for  which  he  seemed  destined.  The  rest  was  easy 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


9 


sailing;  the  doctors  again  had  their  innings,  and  the  simple 
midwife  was  shoved  aside,” — this  with  a defiant  snort. 

‘‘But  what  about  the  deformed  hand  and  arm?” 

“That  was  discovered  only  the  third  or  fourth  day 
after,”  replied  Fraulein  Stahl;  “you  see,  at  first  we  were 
all  so  busy  putting  life  into  the  Prince,  and  keeping  it  in 
him,  that  no  one  thought  of  examining  his  limbs.  Even 
when,  on  January  28,  the  late  Crown  Prince  showed  his 
son  to  his  relatives,  friends,  and  the  assembled  royal  and 
princely  households,  no  one  observed  that  anything  was 
wrong.  But  on  the  last,  or  the  last  but  one  day  of  the 
month,  it  was  noticed  that  the  child  could  not  move  his 
left  arm ; an  investigation  was  made,  and,  in  the  course 
of  it,  the  surgeons  discovered  that  the  elbow  joint  was 
dislocated.  That,  as  Your  Ladyship  knows,  is  nothing 
serious  in  a healthy  child.  However,  in  the  case  of 
Prince  William,  the  surrounding  soft  parts  were  so  injured, 
and  the  muscles  attached  in  such  a condition,  that  no  one 
dared  attempt  to  set  the  bone  then  and  there,  as  should  be 
done  in  all  cases.  ’ ’ 

Fraulein  Stahl  has  often  reiterated  the  above  in  the 
course  of  our  long  official  acquaintance,  and  always  con- 
cluded her  remarks  with  the  statement : “lam  well  aware 
that  the  present  condition  of  the  Kaiser’s  arm  is  attributed 
to  a mistake  made  by  the  persons  officiating  at  the  ac- 
couchement; but,”  and  saying  this  the  old  maid’s  face 
assumes  its  most  determined  look,  “if  that  were  not  a 
falsehood,  a lie,  agreeable  to  the  Emperor  and  his  mother, 
though, — for  even  Dr.  Hinzpeter,  who  knows  better,  repeats 
it, — if  that  were  not  a lie,  I say,  do  you  suppose  for  one 
moment  that  I should  be  in  this  palace  now  to  cripple  more 
Hohenzollerns  ? ” Saying  this,  Fraulein  Stahl  used  to 
bring  down  her  fist  forcibly,  and  conclude  : “ my  own 
opinion  has  always  been  that  the  child’s  left  forearm  was 


lO 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


not  properly  made  up  by  nature,  as,  indeed,  his  whole  left 
side  was  weak,  and  is  weak  to  this  day. 

Besides,  every  one  in  the  palace  knows  that,  though  his 
walk  is  brisk,  it  is  but  His  Majesty’s  ever  alert  exertion 
that  makes  it  so ; if,  at  any  time,  the  Elaiser  ceased  think- 
ing of  his  shortcomings  for  only  a moment,  you  would  see 
his  left  leg  drag.  All  his  aches  and  pains,  too,  locate  in 
his  left  ear  and  the  whole  left  side  of  his  head.  Now, 
Frail  Grdfin^  remember  what  I told  you  about  the  Crown 
Princess’s  condition.  She  was  agitated  by  fears  and  de- 
pressed in  spirits ; tremendous  responsibilities  weighed 
upon  her  mind.  Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  her  child 
was  affected  ? The  mother,  poor  girl ! transfused  her 
nervous  ailments  into  the  child  she  was  carrying,  and  all 
concentrated  in  its  left  side.  That  the  accoucheurs  were, 
of  course,  unable  to  prevent  or  foresee ; besides,  they  were, 
as  already  stated,  far  too  busy  completing  nature’s  handi- 
work by  inflating  and  keeping  the  Prince’s  respiratory 
organs  going,  to  test  the  inferior  parts  of  his  body  sepa- 
rately. If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Prince  had  been  a lusty 
boy,  the  dislocated  joint  would,  undoubtedly,  have  been 
promptly  discovered  and  nothing  would  have  stood  in  the 
way  of  its  immediate  correction.” 

So  the  chances  are  that  Queen  Victoria’s  telegram  was 
answered  in  the  affirmative. 

In  the  Babel  of  contradictory  statements,  Fraulein  Stahl’s 
observations  have  the  grateful  ring  of  veracity;  indeed,  if 
Dr.  Hinzpeter,  whom  Edouard  Simon  and  other  dabblers 
in  imperial  biographies  so  faithfully  copy,  were  right  about 
‘Hhat  injury  to  the  left  arm  inflicted  by  the  accoucheuse^' 
namely,  midwife  Stahl,  the  woman  would  certainly  have 
been  dismissed  in  disgrace.  And  if,  granting  an  almost 
impossible  contingency,  the  late  Emperor  Frederick  had 
pardoned  her,  assuredly  she  would  not  be  tolerated  under 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


II 


the  present  regime,  for  William  II  is  a hard  master,  and  as 
for  suffering  in  his  service  a person  having  blasted  his  life 
by  cruel  neglect,  that  is  as  entirely  out  of  the  question  with 
a man  like  him  as  the  idea  I heard  advanced  off  and  on, 
that  he  is  insensitive  to  his  disablement. 

That  incubus,  on  the  contrary,  is  forever  in  his  thoughts, 
and  his  apparent  unmindfulness  of  the  fact  a clever  affec- 
tation. He  wants  others  to  forget  that  he  is  a cripple,  and 
therefore  ignores  his  stigmata.  ^‘He  who  cannot  dissimu- 
late is  unfit  to  reign,”  said  Louis  XI. 

But,  with  all  that,  he  is  bound  to  be  found  napping  occa- 
sionally; I can  very  well  imagine  the  Kaiser  closing  his 
hand  nervously  round  the  hilt  of  his  sabre  as  he  read  that 
tell-tale  despatch ! 

“Is  it  a fine  boy?”  Ah,  his  grandmother  had  good 
reason  for  feeling  anxious  about  this  infant  in  whose  veins 
coursed  the  blood  of  the  Georges ! It  is  that  English  con- 
sanguinity which  he  blames  and  loathes  and  abhors,  not  the 
little  woman  who  received  him  in  her  arms  already  tainted 
and  marked  for  life. 

That,  despite  his  perfect  understanding  of  the  case,  he 
allows  his  own  historians  to  abuse  Stahl,  is  but  an  in- 
stance of  royal  ingratitude  dictated  by  the  same  policy 
that,  from  the  summer  of  1887  to  the  close  of  the  reign 
of  ninety-nine  days,  branded  certain  of  his  father’s  physi- 
cians liars  and  incompetents. 

In  this  particular  instance  it  happened,  however,  that 
the  biter  was  bitten ; at  the  time  indicated.  Prince  William 
would  have  gladly  seen  Mackenzie  to  the  devil ; and  the 
findings  of  his  German  colleagues,  that  Frederick  III  suf- 
fered from  cancer,  a malady  said  to  exclude  its  victim  from 
the  throne,  proclaimed  from  the  housetops, — but  to-day 
it  is  quite  another  matter.  The  world’s  eye,  instead  of 
compassionately  regarding  the  sick-room  at  San  Remo, 


12 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


is  riveted  upon  the  stationary  or  floating  or  rolling  hos- 
pitals in  which  he  himself  dwells  as  in  a glass  house, — 
hence  the  “remaking”  of  history,  the  dissemination  of 
historical  untruths  at  all  hazards ! 

But  they  must  not  be  too  replete  with  details.  Thus  I once 
heard  the  Kaiser,  in  conversation  with  Her  Majesty,  roundly 
abuse  Hinzpeter  for  saying  in  his  book:  “the  Prussian 
army  never  admitted  a young  man  physically  so  little  fit  to 
become  a brilliant  and  dashing  cavalry  officer  as  William.” 

The  criticism  was  passed  shortly  after  the  appearance  of 
Hinzpeter’s  “Kaiser  William  II,  a Sketch  from  Life,”  in 
the  fall  of  1888,  and  the  Emperor,  after  warning  his  Frau 
against  letting  the  volume  fall  into  the  children’s  hands, 
meaning  the  elder  boys,  continued:  “our  German  phi- 
losophers never  know  where  to  stop ; whether  they  write 
truths  or  lies,  they  are  bound  to  compromise  and  expose 
their  friends  without  ever  realizing  it.” 

This  fateful  left  arm  the  Kaiser  hugs  closely  to  his  body, 
allowing  the  hand,  which  is  not  deformed,  but  puny  like  a 
child’s,  to  rest  against  his  waist,  or  upon  his  hip,  if  on 
horseback.  Any  one  following  the  German  papers  will 
probably  remember  that  the  official  journals  issue  ballons 
iV essai  from  time  to  time  to  ascertain  public  sentiment  in 
respect  to  the  introduction  of  a belt  for  army  officers,  an 
article  of  accoutrement  foreign  to  the  Prussian  uniform  and 
out  of  harmony  with  its  general  style.  As  the  Empress 
Eugenie  re-established  the  crinoline  in  the  sixties  to  hide 
her  interesting  condition,  so  William  wants  to  change 
military  dress  to  find  a convenient  resting-place  for  his 
poor  left  hand  and  arm,  which,  being  about  six  inches 
shorter  than  the  right,  would  attach  to  a belt  unostenta- 
tiously. But,  alas  ! the  majority  of  officers  feign  to  regard 
those  re-occurring  proposals  as  manoeuvres  of  mercenary 
army  contractors,  and  treat  them  with  fine  scorn,  so  that 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


13 


William,  unwilling  to  own  his  secret  reason  for  the  innova- 
tion sought  for,  must  go  without  relief. 

Those  are  gloomy  days  in  the  palace  when  the  pros  and 
cons  of  opinion  on  the  subject  are  read  by  the  Emperor, 
who,  after  carefully  perusing  the  clippings,  recognizes  the 
repeated  failure  of  his  pet  scheme.  It  puts  him  into  the 
mood  for  smashing  things,  and  his  famous  speech  to  the 
Brandenburgers^  on  March  5,  1890,  was  made  under  just 
such  circumstances. 

Of  course,  he  could  use  the  regulation  silver  scarf  for 
the  purpose;  but  that  is  only  permissible  with  gala  uni- 
form, and  to  wear  it  always  would  be  awkward  as  well  as 
expensive. 

As  already  intimated,  the  fingers  of  the  crippled  hand 
are  movable,  for,  although  the  head  of  the  radius  of  the  fore- 
arm does  not  set  properly  into  the  condyles  of  the  humerus, 
the  limb  is  not  altogether  inert.  There  is  consequently  no 
reason  for  doubting  the  late  Major  von  Normann’s  asser- 
tion that  the  Kaiser  clutched  his  sword  with  the  left  hand. 
I have  seen  him  do  the  same  thing  quite  often  when  angry. 
But  while  he  can  take  hold  of  an  article,  he  cannot  for  the 
life  of  him  lift  it.  For  instance,  he  holds  the  reins  in  his 
left  hand,  but  is  powerless  to  direct  the  horse  except  with 
his  right  or  his  knees. 

Without  exaggeration  it  may  be  said,  that,  next  to  the 
stricken  man,  the  imperial  valets,  five  of  whom,  two  ward- 
robemen  and  two  Kammerdiener,  are  always  on  duty  to 
dress,  undress,  and  reuniform  their  master,  suffer  most  on 
account  of  this  infirmity.  One  of  them  is  the  intimus  of 


* Speech  at  the  dinner  of  the  Brandenburg  Provincial  Diet,  at  the 
Hotel  Kaiserhof,  Berlin : “ Those  who  will  support  me  are  heartily 
welcome,  whoever  they  are,  but  those  obstructing  my  policy  I will 
smash  to  pieces.” 


14 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


Her  Majesty’s  Kainmerdiener  Nolte,  and  makes  him  the 
confidant  of  his  troubles. 

“We  would  not  mind  the  work  in  the  least,”  I heard 
him  say  once,  “would  not  care  if  the  Emperor  changed 
his  uniform  ten,  instead  of  three  or  four  times  per  day,  it’s 
the  fear  of  injuring  his  lame  hand  that  makes  us  nervous 
and  gradually  wears  away  our  usefulness.  And,  besides, 
we  must  always  be  prepared  to  forestall  the  collapse  of  the 
all-highest  master  when  he  balances  himself  on  his  left  leg, 
as  is  his  wont  sometimes,  when  he  is  in  a hurry  to  put  on 
a different  pair  of  trousers.”  And,  after  thinking  awhile, 
the  man  added:  “if  they  would  only  introduce  for  all 
troops,  horse,  foot,  and  artillery,  not  excepting  the  navy,  a 
uniform  pair  of  pantaloons,  one -half  of  our  cares  would  be 
removed,  but  this  endless  variety  is  killing  us  and  will  some 
day,  I fear,  lead  to  a catastrophe.  ’ ’ 

His  Majesty’s  right  hand  is  massive  and  ugly  in  appear- 
ance, ugly,  too,  when  clasping  that  of  a friend.  Before  I 
was  presented  to  him.  Court-marshal  von  Liebenau  warned 
me  against  His  Royal  Highness’s  mighty  grip ; but,  though 
I went  through  the  ordeal  with  teeth  set,  I could  hardly 
suppress  an  outcry,  which  amused  the  Prince  exceed- 
ingly. 

How  proud  the  Emperor  is  of  his  personal  strength  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  he  promptly  adopted  the  simile 
suggested  to  him  several  years  ago,  when  a foreign  corre- 
spondent likened  his  fist  to  the  “terrible  right”  of  the  then 
champion  of  the  world,  John  L.  Sullivan,  whereupon  his 
sister  of  Meiningen,  who  adores  strong  men,  remarked : 
“I  hope  Sullivan  has  not  the  bad  taste  to  wear  as  many 
rings  as  my  brother.” 

This  weakness  is,  however,  to  some  extent  excusable,  as 
it  is  thus  the  Kaiser  tries  to  hide  a number  of  conspicuous 
moles  which  disfigure  his  hand.  In  this  he  partly  succeeds. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  1 5 

while  in  spots  the  glittering  diamonds  and  rubies  only  tend 
to  emphasize  the  blemishes. 

I dare  say  very  few  people  have  a correct  notion  of  the 
Emperor’s  height,  for,  as  he  is  seldom  seen  without  a helmet 
terminating  in  a point,  the  public  is  mystified,  and  even 
close  observers  are  apt  to  be  deceived.  In  the  palace  this 
question  is  never  openly  discussed,  but  I heard  the  Kaiserin 
tell  overinquisitive  Prince  Eitel  Fritz  once  or  twice  that 
his  father  measured  five  feet  eight  inches.  That,  I am 
sure,  is  a mistake ; five  feet  five  or  six  inches  is  the  highest 
measure  that  even  Adjutant  Count  Moltke,  who  has  a very 
sure  eye  in  such  matters,  gives  him.  Be  that  as  it  may,  he 
cuts  a respectable  enough  figure,  holding  himself  as  straight 
as  an  arrow,  his  uniforms  being  fashioned  to  correct  the 
traces  of  embonpoint  that  develop  from  time  to  time  in 
spite  of  rigid  bodily  exercise  incessantly  kept  up. 

The  numerous  newspaper  persons  who  talk  glibly  about 
the  Kaiser’s  ‘‘cancerous”  ear  trouble  have,  I imagine,  in- 
formation on  the  point  that  is  more  or  less  inaccessible  to 
those  in  daily  attendance  upon  His  Majesty,  for  whether 
the  dread  malady,  hereditary  with  the  Hohenzollerns,  has 
settled  in  that  organ  or  not,  is  still  an  open  question 
even  with  William’s  own  physicians.  Improbable  it  is 
not. 

Let  us  reflect  a moment.  It  was  Louise  of  Strelitz,  “shar- 
ing with  Marie  Antoinette  the  sad  pre-eminence  of  beauty 
and  misfortune,”  who  carried  carcinoma  into  the  Prussian 
camp;  the  English  escaped  that  doom  only  because  eco- 
nomical George  III  preferred  Caroline  of  Brunswick  for  his 
son,  her  dowry  being  larger  by  a few  thousand  Thalers  than 
the  Mecklenburger’s.  There  was  theory  in  that  madman’s 
madness,  and  no  mistake. 

All  Queen  Louise’s  portraits  are  remarkable  for  a scarf 
the  royal  lady  invariably  wears  under  her  chin ; even  her 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


i6 

oldest  portraits  and  busts  exhibited  in  the  Berlin  Hohen- 
zollern  Museum,  no  matter  whether  the  Queen  is  in  Court 
dress  or  ordinarily  gowned,  have  this  distinction.  The 
scarf,  it  is  said,  was  worn  to  conceal  the  marks  of  an 
operation  necessitated  by  a swelling  of  the  glands,  and 
that  is  undoubtedly  authentic,  but  it  is  also  true  that  in 
this  very  spot  the  cancer  that  killed  her,  eventually  devel- 
oped. I have  this  information  from  descendants  of  old-time 
royal  servants  in  the  employ  of  the  late  Emperor  William, 
Louise’s  last  surviving  son.  The  Queen  died  of  the  disease 
at  Hohenzieritz,  her  father’s  estate,  in  i8io. 

That  Emperor  Frederick  perished  of  cancer  of  the 
throat  even  Dr.  Mackenzie  had  to  admit.  Therefore,  if 
one  may  say  so  without  offence,  it  would  be  in  the  line  of 
natural  development  if  William  II,  supposing  he  inherited 
the  malady,  were  attacked  by  it  in  the  neighborhood  of  his 
throat.  But  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  cancer  is  thought 
by  some  authorities  to  be  untransmissible. 

The  only  time  that  His  Majesty’s  ear  trouble  was  men- 
tioned in  the  palace  was,  as  far  as  I can  remember,  at  the 
death  of  Henry  XI  of  Reuss-Gera,  son  of  the  Hereditary 
Prince  Henry  XXIV  (if  numbers  must  be  given)  and  Prin- 
cess Elise  of  Hohenlohe,  a cousin  of  the  Empress  on  the 
mother’s  side.  The  little  one  died  November  4,  1891,  of 
scarlet  fever,  we  thought,  and  the  Empress  remarked:  ‘‘I 
trust  the  Kaiser  will  not  hear  of  the  cause  of  death,  for  it 
always  makes  him  uneasy.  ’ ’ 

“Why,  has  His  Majesty  not  had  scarlet  fever?”  I in- 
quired, looking  up  from  the  despatch  I was  writing  at  my 
mistress’s  command  and  which  requested  the  Reuss  Court- 
marshal  to  send  more  particulars. 

“ Of  course,”  said  the  Kaiserin  rather  hesitatingly,  “and 
in  its  most  malignant  form,  too.  How  could  you  live  here 
several  years  without  hearing  of  it?” 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


17 


As  Her  Majesty’s  manner  convinced  me  that  it  would  not 
be  agreeable  to  her  to  go  into  details,  I curbed  my  curios- 
ity until  some  time  later  I met  Count  Seckendorf,  for  many 
years  chamberlain  to  the  Empress  Frederick.  This  noble- 
man enjoys  Her  Majesty’s  supreme  confidence  and  knows 
all  the  family  secrets. 

“Your  Ladyship  did  well  not  to  press  this  point,”  said 
the  courtier,  “for  the  Kaiser  would  be  very  angry  if  he 
heard  of  any  such  discussion.  As  a matter  of  fact,  that 
scarlet-fever  story — for  it  is  a sfory — is  reserved  for  use 
in  a contingency  that  has  not  yet  arisen,  I am  happy  to 
say.  ’ ’ 

“You  put  me  on  the  rack.  Count.” 

“Others  are  there  already  and  dare  not  complain,”  re- 
plied the  Kammerherr^  with  a short,  satirical  laugh  not 
devoid  of  a tinge  of  sadness, — “ay,  on  the  rack  of  public 
opinion,  of  the  most  cold-blooded  insinuation  and  of  re- 
proof direct.  Do  you  remember,”  he  continued,  “when 
a certain  august  person  snubbed  the  Crown  Prince’s,  after- 
ward the  Emperor’s,  English  physician  because  that  gen- 
tleman had  refused  to  take  his  cue  from  the  seditious 
Bismarck  and  Junker  clique  when  reporting  upon  a dis- 
ease that  played  such  a part  in  a state  tragedy,  then  on  the 
boards?  To-day,  opposite  views  on  the  same  subject  are 
trumps,  and  persons  insisting  that  a specified  malady  goes 
with  the  crown  of  Prussia  are  publicly  disowned  and  offi- 
cially guillotined.” 

“I  know,  I know,  but  the  scarlet-fever  story?” 

“As  I have  had  the  honor  of  already  intimating:  if  the 
condition  of  Frederick’s  successor  becomes  alarming  at 
any  time  in  consequence  of  his  ear  trouble,  Your  Ladyship 
will  see  it  in  all  the  official  papers.” 

It  took  no  little  persuasion  to  induce  Graf  Seckendorf  to 
^satisfy  my  curiosity,  that  had  increased  rather  than  abated 


i8 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


during  the  last  quarter  of  an  hour.  ‘‘The  official  com- 
munique,'' he  said  at  last,  “will  read  something  like  this: 

“ When  His  Majesty,  as  a young  man,  was  stricken  with 
scarlet  fever,  his  mother,  the  Empress  Frederick,  insisted 
upon  treating  the  patient  after  a custom  prevailing  in  some 
parts  of  England.  The  feverish  boy  was  subjected  many 
times  daily  to  ice-cold  ablutions,  while  his  body  and  bed 
linen  were  continually  changed,  in  consequence  of  which 
an  acute  cold  settled  in  the  left  ear,  which  has  ever  since 
irritated  the  youth  and  man.” 

“Then,”  concluded  the  Count,  “will  follow  a learned 
treatise  showing  that  the  Kaiser  has  water,  not  tumors,  on 
the  brain.” 

I had  to  laugh  at  the  bonmot,  though  immediately  after- 
ward both  of  us  were  ashamed,  the  one  for  uttering,  the 
other  for  applauding,  so  ill-natured  a remark.  We  also 
looked  about  us  to  see  that  no  one  had,  perchance,  over- 
heard our  conversation. 

There  is,  I repeat  it,  as  yet  no  evidence  to  justify  the 
worst  suspicions  regarding  the  Emperor’s  ear  trouble,  but 
the  fact  that  the  organ  is  regularly  treated  with  antiseptics 
to  arrest  putrefaction  seems  to  indicate  the  presence  of 
gangrenous  inflammation.  Quite  frequently  the  Kaiser  at- 
tends to  this  himself,  and  if  he  has  had  a particularly  bad 
day,  the  physician  on  duty  or  the  body  physician  operates 
on  him.  But  in  the  course  of  years  the  Empress,  likewise, 
has  become  an  adept  at  bringing  relief  to  her  husband  by 
these  means;  she  also  handles  an  apparatus  for  pumping 
air  out  of  the  sick  ear,  or  clearing  its  passages  by  blowing 
air  through  them.  This  instrument,  which  is  fitted  with  a 
long  rubber  tube  and  a spiral  trumpet,  hangs  at  the  side  of 
the  bedstead  in  their  Majesties’  joint  chamber  and  a dupli- 
cate is  in  the  Kaiser’s  own  toilet-room,  while  a third  forms 
part  of  the  travelling  equipage.  The  bedrooms  on  the  yacht 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


Hohenzollern  and  on  the  imperial  saloon  train  are  also  fitted 
with  ear-pumps. 

Harassed  in  this  wise  by  maladies  of  the  most  serious 
character,  the  Emperor  can  scarcely  be  blamed  for  taking 
excessive  precautions  against  contagion.  That  he  lives 
the  greater  part  of  the  year  in  the  inconveniently  situated 
Neues  Palais,  which,  moreover,  will  never  be  a thoroughly 
modern  residence  for  reasons  that  will  be  explained  in 
another  chapter,  is  mainly  due  to  its  solitary  position  at 
the  end  of  the  town.  At  the  Marble  Palace,  where  the 
imperial  couple  used  to  spend  the  summer  while  waiting  for 
William’s  patent  of  general  and  finally  for  the  crown,  it 
was  quite  different.  There  they  had  neighbors,  one  of  them 
the  Hereditary  Prince  of  Schoenburg,  chef  d' escadr on  of 
the  Guard  Hussars,  who  lived  in  a villa  opposite  the  Neuer 
Garten. 

Coming  down  to  breakfast  on  November  i8,  1888,  the 
Kaiser  learned  that  His  Grace  had  died  of  diphtheria  a few 
hours  before. 

Diphtheria?  ” cried  William,  turning  a shade  paler  than 
is  his  wont  in  the  morning, — there  seems  to  be  something 
unhealthy  in  the  air  hereabouts.  Let  the  chamberlain  on 
duty  be  informed  that  my  things  must  be  packed  and  sent 
to  Berlin  at  once.” 

“But  the  residential  quarters  in  the  (Berlin)  Schloss  are 
yet  far  from  finished,”  interposed  Herr  von  Liebenau. 

“Never  mind,  there  will  be  some  corner  where  I can 
sleep  and  eat  without  running  the  risk  of  infection.”  And 
seeing  that  the  adjutant  still  waited,  he  added,  anticipating 
a question  which  etiquette  forbade  to  be  asked:  “all  my 
things, — I am  going  to  move.” 

That  settled.  His  Majesty  quieted  down,  and  when, 
shortly  afterward,  the  Empress  arrived,  he  simply  said: 
“ Dona,  I am  going  to  Berlin  and  this  house  will  see  me 


20 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


no  more.”  Auguste  Victoria  was  thunderstruck,  but  seeing 
the  husband  determined,  she  dared  not  question  him.  So 
their  meal  passed  in  silence  while  visions  of  domestic 
storms,  of  irreparable  displeasure,  even  of  a maitresse  en 
titre  perhaps,  chased  through  Her  Majesty’s  brain.  And 
when,  half  an  hour  later,  I entered  her  room  to  ask  if  the 
valets  might  go  to  the  bed-chamber  and  remove  the  Kaiser’s 
clothes, — the  Empress  often  returns  to  that  room  after  break- 
fast, and  naturally  dislikes  meeting  men-servants  there, — I 
found  my  mistress  in  tears,  bewailing  a fate  that  was  as  yet 
a mystery. 

‘‘Do  you  know  why  the  Kaiser  is  going?”  she  said  at 
last,  after  looking  around  to  see  that  we  were  alone.  The 
confession,  for  such  it  turned  out  to  be,  evidently  deeply 
moved  Her  Majesty,  as  her  eyes  streamed  with  tears.  I 
could  not  understand  it  at  first.  “Of  course,”  I replied, 
the  question  having  been  repeated,  “His  Majesty  has 
heard  of  the  death  across  the  way,  and,  being  so  near  the 
Schoenburgs,  he  is  afraid  that  diphtheria  might  break  out 
in  the  palace.” 

A sigh  of  relief  escaped  the  imperial  lady.  She  scarcely 
allowed  me  to  finish.  “Is  the  Hereditary  Prince  dead?” 
she  exclaimed,  with  almost  a joyful  ring  in  her  voice. 
Then  changing  her  attitude,  she  added:  “why  have  I 
not  been  informed  of  this?  I might  have  been  spared  an 
unhappy  half-hour,  and,  besides,  I should  have  sent  my 
condolences  to  Princess  Lucie.” 

William  was  as  good  as  his  word;  his  state  papers  pub- 
lished that  very  day  were  dated  “Schloss,  Berlin,”  etc. 
and  ever  since  the  Marble  Palace  has  ceased,  as  it  were, 
to  figure  in  contemporary  history. 

The  Kaiser  was  right  in  surmising  that  his  thousand- 
windowed  palace  in  the  capital  would  afford  him  lodgings 
of  some  sort;  but  as  his  own  apartments,  as  well  as  the 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


21 


majority  of  the  other  suites,  were  undergoing  alterations,  he 
was  obliged  to  make  his  quarters  in  the  so-called  von  Kleist 
chambers,  said  to  have  been  once  inhabited  by  Princess 
Amalia’s  first  lady-in-waiting,  companion  and  confidante, 
the  Baroness  von  Kleist.  They  are  exceedingly  beautiful, 
far  more  so  than  any  of  the  gilded  modern  rooms  that  fin- 
de-siecle  Berlin  taste  has  furnished,  yet  at  the  same  time 
lack  even  the  most  ordinary  conveniences. 

I was  at  the  Meiningen  Villa,  in  the  Thiergarten,  on 
some  business  of  Her  Majesty’s,  when  the  Princess  brought 
the  news.  “I  have  just  come  from  my  big  brother,” — she 
always  speaks  of  the  Kaiser  thus, — ‘‘and  what  do  you  think? 
I found  him  installed  in  the  Kleist  apartments, — at  the 
Kleist  rooms,  which  the  White  Lady  is  said  to  haunt,  ’ ’ she 
said  to  her  Hofdame^  in  so  loud  a voice  that  others,  as  well 
as  myself,  could  not  avoid  hearing  it. 

“ ‘ I am  glad  Auguste  has  had  her  baby,’  I said  to  the 
Kaiser  at  once,”  continued  Princess  Charlotte,  “for,  as 
you  know,  von  Kleist’s  child  born  in  this  apartment  was 
disfigured  by  a terrible  birth-mark  on  the  nose,  the  broom 
of  La  Balayeuse.  ’ ’ 

“And  who  may  that  be.  Your  Royal  Highness?” 

“The  White  Lady,  of  course,  who  used  to  announce  her 
coming  by  vigorously  sweeping  the  corridors.  On  that 
account,  Frederick  the  Great  dubbed  her  ‘the  sweeper,’  or, 
in  his  beloved  French,  La  Balayeuse.  And  that,”  con- 
tinued the  Princess,  with  a loud  laugh,  as  if  some  hilarious 
bonmot  had  just  seen  the  light  in  her  luminous  brain, — 
“that  was,  after  all,  a fitting  designation,  for,  sub  rosd,  the 
White  Lady  of  the  Hohenzollerns  is  no  lady  at  all.  I have 
just  inspected  her  favorite  abode,  and,  I assure  you,  there 
is  neither  a bath-tub  nor  a toilet  to  be  found  there.” 

Although  the  Empress  knew  of  the  objectionable  features 
of  her  husband’s  temporary  abode  (if  she  had  not,  her 


22 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


fond  sister-in-law’s  witticism  would  have  enlightened  her, 
for,  whenever  Her  Royal  Highness  gets  off  a joke,  Auguste 
Victoria  is  informed  of  it  by  Charlotte’s  friends  almost  as 
promptly  as  by  her  enemies),  she  insisted  upon  following 
William  within  twice  twenty-four  hours.  But  the  Emperor, 
pretending  to  be  very  busy  with  his  speech  for  the  open- 
ing of  the  Reichstag  on  November  22,  would  not  see 
her  until  the  following  day.  Now  everybody  knows  that 
speeches  from  the  throne  are  composed  by  the  Chancellor, 
in  this  case  by  Prince  Bismarck, — hence  it  was  clear  that 
William  had  some  other  reason  for  absenting  himself.  As 
a matter  of  fact,  he  had  heard  that  Fraulein  von  Gersdorff, 
Dame  of  the  Court,  was  suffering  from  a sore  throat,  and 
though  her  quarters  were  not  in  the  Marble  Palace,  but 
in  the  gentlewomen’s  pavilion,  situated  in  the  park,  he 
evidently  feared  that  Her  Majesty  might  have  come  in 
contact  with  her.  And  not  until  he  was  reassured  by 
myself — he  obtained  the  information  in  a very  diplomatic 
fashion,  I must  say — did  he  emerge  from  his  seclusion. 

After  I had  withdrawn.  Court-marshal  von  Liebenau  was 
summoned. 

^‘No  more  cases  of  diphtheria  in  Potsdam,  I hope?” 
said  the  Kaiser,  in  his  most  imperious  style. 

^^None  that  I know  of.  Your  Majesty.” 

‘^That  you  know  of?  My  dear  sir,  that  means  either 
that  you  are  out  of  touch  with  your  department  or  that 
cases  of  illness  are  secreted.  At  any  rate,  you  will  be 
good  enough  to  telegraph  to  the  Marble  Palace  that  all 
persons  of  the  suite,  or  in  the  royal  service,  who  show 
any  signs  of  throat  trouble  must  be  removed  to  a hospital 
at  once,  without  the  slightest  delay.  These  are  my  strictest 
orders.” 

One  of  the  Empress’s  favorite  wardrobewomen,  Frau 
Schnase,  fell  a victim  to  William’s  relentless  anxiety  on 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


23 


that  occasion.  Not  being  on  duty  for  several  days,  she 
had  remained  in  Potsdam,  and,  by  the  Court  physician’s 
advice,  had  taken  a perspiratory  treatment  to  reduce  a 
swelling  of  the  glands,  very  common  among  certain  classes 
in  Germany,  so  that  at  ii  o’clock  that  night  she  was  in  the 
midst  of  a healthy  sweat  and  sound  sleep,  when  the  Major- 
domo  awakened  her  to  say  that  by  ^‘all-highest  order”  she 
must  leave  instanter. 

Protest  being  out  of  the  question,  a closed  Droschke 
was  procured,  and  the  shivering  patient  was  rolled  off  to 
the  nearest  hospital  through  the  wintry  streets. 

“No  room,”  reported  the  night-watch,  when  the  driver 
summoned  him. 

“But  she  is  one  of  Her  Majesty’s  personal  attendants.” 

Of  course  that  made  a difference,  and,  after  some  more 
discussion,  Frau  Schnase  was  given  a cot  in  the  pauper’s 
ward,  third  class,  next  to  one  in  which  a poor  creature 
was  just  receiving  extreme  unction. 

The  Queen’s  wardrobewoman  was  a healthy  girl,  and  re- 
covered not  only  from  the  horrors  of  her  unusual  experi- 
ence, but  likewise  from  an  illness  she  caught  while  exposed 
to  the  deadly  exhalations  of  the  sorry  environment  forced 
upon  her.  After  a month  or  so,  she  was  back  at  the 
Schloss ; but,  daring  to  complain  of  the  treatment  that 
had  been  meted  out  to  her,  such  biting  sarcasm  and  con- 
tempt were  heaped  upon  poor  Schnase  that  she  preferred 
to  resign. 

With  our  knowledge  of  the  Kaiser’s  peculiar  predisposi- 
tion to  diseases  of  the  throat,  this  care  exercised  to  guard 
against  infection  would  seem  quite  proper,  though  exces- 
sively hard  on  others,  had  it  not,  in  the  course  of  years, 
become  a mania.  Assuredly,  no  one  blamed  His  Majesty 
for  postponing  the  Wiirtemburg  manoeuvres  in  the  summer 
pf  1893,  when  cholera  was  raging; — in  those  days  all  the 


24 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


royal  servants  were  treated  to  unsugared  tea  as  the  stand- 
ing beverage,  which  caused  not  a little  indignation  in  the 
palace,  the  flunkies  and  maids  insisting  that  the  Emperor 
should  make  the  tea  palatable,  if  he  forbade  them  to  drink 
anything  else;  but  it  is  quite  another  thing  when  the 
Kaiser  refuses  to  confer  with  state  offlcials  because  some 
member  of  their  family  might  be  indisposed.  Interests  of 
the  state  are  liable  to  suffer  seriously  through  hallucinations 
of  that  sort,  and  if  it  were  not  for  the  love  I bear  my 
country,  I might  cite  instances  of  international  importance 
showing  errors  and  inexcusable  lapses  for  which  this  strange 
fancy  is  responsible. 

The  Empress,  who  faithfully  copies  all  her  husband’s 
fads,  either  because  she  admires  them  or  because  she  fears 
his  displeasure,  is  as  bad  as  he.  Her  Majesty  frequently 
causes  the  discharge  of  servants  for  neglecting  to  report 
some  trifling  sickness  in  the  family ; and  members  of  the 
royal  household  not  living  in  the  castle  can  enjoy  a holiday 
at  any  time  by  simply  furnishing  a doctor’s  certificate 
stating  that  somebody  with  whom  they  are  domiciled  in 
the  city  is  ill.  This  applies  to  the  Kaiser’s  adjutant- 
generals,  as  well  as  to  the  chamberlains,  equerries,  dames 
of  the  palace,  chasseurs,  coachmen,  cooks,  and  scullions. 
More  than  once  have  I seen  His  Majesty  abruptly  start 
away  from  a person  with  whom  he  happened  to  be  con- 
versing at  a reception  or  ball,  leaving  the  unhappy  lady  or 
gentleman  speechless  and  crushed,  because  of  an  innocent 
admission  that  a son  or  a daughter,  or  perhaps  an  uncle, 
had  the  measles  or  a cold.  At  the  very  mention  of  the 
fact  the  war-lord  fled  like  the  lion,  hearing  a cock  crow. 

Once  I found  Frau  von  Kotze  in  tears  behind  some 
shrub  in  the  White  Hall,  while  all  around  her  dancing  was 
going  on.  ‘‘What  is  the  matter  with  Your  Ladyship?” 
I inquired ; ‘‘ can  I be  of  service  to  you? ” 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


25 


^^No,  thank  you,  Madame  la  Comtesse,”  she  sobbed; 
but  to  think  that  he  said  that  to  me  f ” 

*^Who  is  he,  and  what  did  he  say  ? ” 

‘‘The  Kaiser,  of  course  ! When  he  heard  that  my  boy 
was  ill,  he  remarked,  turning  on  his  heel:  ‘How  dare  you 
come  to  my  house  under  such  circumstances?’  ” 

That,  needless  to  say,  happened  before  the  anonymous 
letter  scandal,  and  at  the  time  when  Frau  von  Kotze 
prided  herself  upon  her  particularly  friendly  relations  with 
His  Majesty. 

But  the  most  absurd  instances  of  the  Kaiser’s  mania  for 
precaution  is  afforded  by  the  case  of  little  Henry  of  Reuss, 
already  mentioned.  As  soon  as  his  death  became  known, 
William  requested  Her  Majesty  to  have  disinfected  all  the 
dresses  that  she  had  taken  to  Gera  when  attending  the 
baptism  of  the  prince,  several  months  before,  although  he 
knew  at  the  time  that  His  little  Highness  did  not  die  of  an 
infectious  disease,  as  at  first  thought,  but  of  hcemorrhoea 
petechialisy  a sort  of  scurvy. 


CHAPTER  II 


Since  the  days  when  Spanish  etiquette  prescribed  a 
special  accoutrement  for  kings  going  to  the  connubial 
chamber  (Charles  V,  we  are  told,  ‘‘carried  a naked  sword 
in  his  right,  a torch  in  his  left  hand,  and  a bottle  of  water 
under  his  arm,  but  not  for  drinking  purposes  ”),  royal  ladies 
and  gentlemen  have  become  considerably  like  ordinary 
folks  in  respect  to  the  common  decencies  of  life,  and  if 
they  “turn  tigers,  it  is  not  owing  to  their  bringing  up  and 
habits,”  as  the  last  Charles  of  France  once  said. 

Napoleon,  the  first  of  modern  kings,  insisted  upon  keep- 
ing imperial  Marie  Louise  under  lock  and  key  after  she 
had  retired ; the  only  entrance  to  her  room  was  through 
a chamber  in  which  the  first  lady-in-waiting  slept,  whose 
bed,  moreover,  had  to  be  curtainless,  so  that  the  Emperor, 
when  passing,  might  see  whether  she  was  alone ; but  in 
Potsdam  and  Berlin  the  heads  of  a mighty  nation  sleep 
together  as  unceremoniously  and  as  comfortably,  let  us 
hope,  as  any  Herr  and  Frau  Burgomaster  or  citizen  of 
even  lesser  importance  in  the  Fatherland. 

How  often  have  I been  importuned  to  allow  visitors 
just  one  peep  into  this  sanctum  sanctorum  where  nature’s 
alchemy  triumphs  over  a great  ancestor’s  injunction  against 
“burdening  the  nation  with  useless  beggar  princes;  ” but, 
of  course,  no  such  request  could  be  granted,  even  were 
it  accompanied  by  the  offer  of  the  richest  diamond  in 
the  world.  Their  Majesties’  bedroom  opens,  by  a richly 

27 


28 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


ornamented  folding-door,  into  the  Kaiserin’s  study  on  the 
second  floor  of  the  Neues  Palais,  and  is  connected  with 
the  toilet  and  bath  closets  belonging  to  the  respective 
suites.  It  has  two  high  windows,  and  is  lofty  and  spacious, 
but  sadly  lacks  the  harmony  in  color  and  general  furnish- 
ings that  is  the  main  charm  of  a really  beautiful  apartment, 
such  as  this  is  intended  to  be.  Indeed,  the  Kaiserin  tired 
of  it  long  ago,  and  would  gladly  exchange  its  treasures,  one 
and  all,  for  new  things,  though  the  room  was  fitted  up 
entirely  after  her  own  suggestion.  What  first  upset  the 
Empress  was  the  ultra  graceful  and  exquisite  style  of  Neu- 
Glienecke,  the  property  of  her  brother-in-law  and  sister. 
Prince  and  Princess  Frederick  Leopold  of  Prussia,  the 
richest  of  the  Hohenzollerns.  This  castle,  situated  near 
Potsdam,  was  rebuilt  soon  after  William’s  enthronement, 
and,  having  thoroughly  redecorated  and  refitted  the  palace 
in  the  latest  and  most  sumptuous  manner,  their  Royal 
Highnesses  gave  a house-warming  in  the  summer  of  1891. 
From  this  Her  Majesty  returned  in  high  dudgeon,  and,  on 
entering  her  own  bedroom,  where  I was  busy  arranging 
some  flowers,  she  exclaimed:  ^^How pauvre  it  all  looks! 
If  one  judged  mine  and  Louise’s  positions  from  our  sur- 
roundings, I might  be  taken  for  a mere  appanaged  princess, 
while  my  sister  would  easily  pass  for  the  Kaiserin.  She 
has  everything  of  the  latest, — the  German  Empress  must 
content  herself  with  the  remnants  of  centuries  scattered 
among  Berlin-made  show-pieces.” 

Kings,  after  all,  are  but  men,  and  the  Glienecke  house- 
warming cost  William  exactly  80,000  marks,  though  the 
Kaiserin  would  fain  have  seen  him  expend  ten  times  that 
amount.  As  it  was,  he  consented  to  the  renewal  of  the  bed- 
room hangings  and  upholstery,  which  are  of  the  heaviest 
damask,  the  groundwork  being  a peculiar  sandy  gray  with 
large  yellow  flowers  in  bold  relief,  a pattern  and  material 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


29 


that  connoisseurs  intuitively  associate  with  the  graceful  and 
superb  age  of  Louis  XIV  or  XV.  The  original  was,  in 
fact,  a present  of  Madame  Pompadour  to  the  great  Fred- 
erick, for  at  one  period  of  their  lives  they  were  on  friendly 
terms.  Of  course,  by  the  time  it  passed  into  William’s 
hands  it  had  faded;  but  in  the  mellow  of  age  it  was  still 
exceedingly  beautiful,  far  more  so  than  the  new  draperies, 
though  they  are  supposed  to  be  exact  imitations  of  the  old 
French  example. 

But  those  old  silks,  that  in  their  early  days  probably 
witnessed  the  jealous  quarrels  between  the  Margravine  of 
Bayreuth  and  her  doltish  husband,  and  heard  Queen  Ulrique 
(of  Sweden)  recount  to  Princess  Amalia  her  disputes  with 
those  contumacious  senators  of  hers,”  who  once  de- 
manded sight  and  count  of  the  crown  jewels: — ‘Uhere, 
voildy  there  they  are,  view  them,  count  them,  lock  them 
up  ; never  more  will  I wear  one  of  them,  ’ ’ said  her  proud 
Majesty, — but  those  old  silks  were  no  more  beautiful  with 
the  charm  historic  associations  lend  to  things  than  the 
Elizabethan  bed  that  stood,  until  the  summer  of  1892,  in 
the  alcove  nearest  the  door. 

A right  royal  couch  was  that  in  which,  during  the  first 
years  of  their  reign,  the  Emperor  and  Empress  slept, — mag- 
nificent and  stately,  a fitting  companion-piece,  with  its 
canopy  and  curtains,  to  that  world-famed  four-poster,  the 
Bed  of  Ware,  which  could  be  enclosed  on  all  sides  by  tapes- 
tries, and  whereto  the  King  and  Queen  retired  in  full  sight 
of  all  their  retainers  lying  around  on  the  straw-covered 
floor  with  doublets  and  petticoats  for  pillows,  and  ‘^full  of 
good  wine  each  mother’s  son  and  daughter  of  them.” 

How  the  Kaiser  liked  this  old  bed,  with  its  heraldic  de- 
signs, and  upholstered  side-pieces,  whereon  he  could  sit 
comfortably,  smoking  a cigarette  and  reading  a novel  by 
the  light  of  the  single  wax  candle  standing  on  a little  table 


30 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


near  his  end  of  the  couch  ! but,  lo!  those  Frederick  Leo- 
polds” acquired  modern  English  bedsteads,  and,  woman- 
like, Auguste  Victoria  would  not  allow  her  sister  to  eclipse 
her  in  being  up  to  date. 

So  one  fine  day  the  lying-in  beds  were  ordered  home 
from  Charlottenburg  castle,  their  usual  storage-place,  and, 
the  antique  couch  being  sent  up-stairs,  these  things  of  brass 
and  the  mode  were  put  up  near  the  windows,  to  the  intense 
alarm  of  the  physicians,  who  feared  they  had  made  another 
miscalculation,  and  of  relatives  and  friends  who  anticipated 
a catastrophe  like  that  following  the  Pasewalk  review,  men- 
tioned elsewhere.  Of  course,  it  was  a false  alarm,  and  our 
pretty  Princess  Louise  was  regularly  born”  on  Septem- 
ber 13,  1892. 

That  the  Emperor,  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  has  his 
doubts  as  to  the  propriety  of  using  a common  factory- 
made  bedstead  as  the  cradle  of  kings,  is  evident  from  the 
fact  that  for  some  time  these  brass  affairs  had  to  be  removed 
every  morning,  while  in  their  place  the  Elizabethan  couch 
was  set  up ; but  the  order,  which  evoked  no  end  of  dis- 
satisfaction among  the  servants,  gradually  fell  into  disuse, 
and  nowadays  the  triumph  of  brass  over  stately  splendor  is 
complete — in  the  bedroom,  at  least. 

As  every  domestic  arrangement  in  the  palace  is  fashioned 
with  a view  to  insure  the  preservation  of  the  Kaiser’s  health, 
the  doors  and  windows  near  the  imperial  bed  are  doubly 
screened  by  heavy  portieres^  summer  and  winter ; for  the 
faintest  possibility  of  draughts  is  dreaded,  and  even  the 
down  quilts  and  blankets  are  so  fastened  at  the  bottom 
and  sides  that  their  Majesties  must  needs  crawl  into  bed 
one  leg  at  a time,  there  being  only  a breadth  of  about 
twenty  inches  left  open. 

The  Hohenzollern  household  never  enjoyed  a reputation 
for  more  than  superficial  opulence,  and  the  paucity  of  its 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


31 


linen  has  often  been  the  subject  of  ill-natured  comment  at 
other  courts, — a state  of  affairs  which  the  present  Emperor’s 
English  mother  tried  to  correct  by  large  purchases  during 
the  reign  of  ninety-nine  days;  but  when,  after  Frederick’s 
death,  trouble  arose  as  to  who  was  to  foot  the  bills  for  these 
extravagances, — Court-marshal  von  Liebenau  designated 
them  so  in  his  junkcr-like  contempt  for  insular  notions  of 
nicety, — Her  Majesty  removed  most  of  the  newly-acquired 
house-linen,  and  her  successors,  in  consequence,  often  ex- 
perience the  chagrin  of  sleeping  between  sheets  only  partly 
fresh,  especially  in  winter,  when  there  are  difficulties  about 
drying  linen.  To  be  sure,  Auguste  Victoria  has  laid  down 
a rule,  stipulating  that  the  royal  couch  be  furnished  with 
clean  linen  every  day  in  the  year ; but  as  there  is  only  a very 
limited  stock  to  draw  from,  it  happens  sometimes  that  only 
one  clean  sheet  is  obtainable,  and,  in  that  case,  the  upper 
sheet  of  the  two  used  on  the  previous  night  is  taken  for  the 
under.  Whenever  that  happens.  Her  Majesty  is  exceedingly 
anxious  that  the  Kaiser  should  not  find  it  out,  for,  as  may 
be  well  imagined,  such  evidence  of  penury  would  be  likely 
to  jar  on  his  notions  of  divine  appointment.  If  one  thinks 
himself  little  short  of  Deity,  it  must  be  exceedingly  embar- 
rassing to  discover  that  one’s  linen  chest  affords  only  a 
single  sheet  at  certain  seasons. 

Before  the  imperial  couple  retire,  the  household  goes 
through  a series  of  routine  work.  Above  all.  His  Majesty’s 
nickel  warming-pan  must  be  heated  to  the  proper  degree 
and  placed  at  his,  the  right,  side  of  the  bed.  That  is  done 
all  the  year  round,  except  in  July  and  August.  Next,  fold- 
ing screens  are  so  placed  as  to  surround  the  bed  on  all 
sides,  and  woe  to  the  chamber-woman  who  forgets  to  draw 
any  of  the  numerous  curtains,  portieres^  and  other  devices 
for  excluding  a breath  of  air.  For  cases  of  emergency,  a 
pair  of  long  woollen  stockings,  white  cloth  knickerbockers, 


32 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


jack-boots,  a flannel-lined  pea-jacket,  soft  hat,  and  gloves 
must  be  placed  ready  on  one  corner  of  the  lounge  that  is 
at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  and  a similar  ^‘accident  toilet”  is 
provided  for  Her  Majesty. 

Finally,  the  night-lamp  needs  looking  after, — a most 
unroyal  meuble  of  tin  enclosing  a glass  bowl  filled  with  oil 
and  water  in  equal  parts  and  containing  a Parisian  light. 
Over  that  is  placed  a china  cup  with  gruel,  which  must  be 
steaming  hot  when  His  Majesty  enters. 

Undressed  is  the  Kaiser  by  two  of  his  five  valets  in  his 
chambre  de  toilette^  from  which  he  steps  into  the  joint  bed- 
room, attired  in  a single  garment  and  bath-slippers,  the 
Empress  going  through  her  part  of  the  performance  in  her 
own  chamber. 

While  the  room  contains  some  exquisite  pieces  of  fur- 
niture, it  can,  as  stated,  scarcely  be  considered  in  good 
taste.  The  lounge  and  some  fauteuils  are  covered  in  red, 
while  two  sofas  are  of  the  color  of  the  wall-hangings  and 
draperies.  Then  there  are  wicker  chairs  with  silk  cush- 
ions edged  with  mulle,  a crystal  chandelier  and  bronze 
candelabra,  a blue  carpet,  and  vases  and  flower-pots 
of  different  styles,  hand-painted  or  majolica  ware,  be- 
sides Japanese  tables,  bamboo  chairs,  and  masterpieces 
of  Boule  and  marqueterie^ — a ‘‘regular  second-hand 
dealer’s  shop,”  as  the  Empress’s  mother,  the  Dowager 
Duchess  of  Schleswig,  once  said  in  one  of  her  bright 
moments. 

The  wicker  chairs,  by  the  way,  have  a history.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1894,  when  the  Kaiser  was  absent  at  the  manoeu- 
vres with  the  King  of  Saxony,  Her  Majesty,  to  kill  time, 
which  never  hangs  more  heavily  upon  her  hands  than  when 
her  lord  is  away  from  home,  conceived  the  idea  of  painting 
the  basket  settees  a bright  lilac.  It  was  to  be  a surprise 
for  William  upon  his  return. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


33 


^‘Before  we  go  to  bed,  I will  ask  the  Kaiser  to  sit  down 
in  his  favorite  seat  for  a moment,  and  then  I will  sud- 
denly turn  up  the  lamps,  exhibiting  my  work.  Won’t  he 
be  pleased?  ” Her  Majesty  had  remarked  to  Fraulein  von 
Gersdorff. 

The  latter  acquiesced,  as  a matter  of  course,  and  both 
ladies  started  in  upon  the  task  at  once,  spoiling  many 
pairs  of  gloves,  besides  their  dresses  and  a carpet  worth  a 
whole  regiment  of  wicker  chairs.  But  this  mattered  little, 
seeing  that,  after  several  cans  of  mixed  paint  and  a bottle 
of  turpentine  had  been  consumed,  the  chef-d^ oeuvre  was 
complete.  It  was  the  day  before  William  was  expected 
back. 

But  will  they  be  dry  in  time?”  asked  the  Dame  of  the 
Court,  Grafin  Keller,  when  all  the  ladies  of  Her  Majesty 
had  been  called  together  to  view  this  first  attempt  at 
household  decoration. 

Certainly,”  said  the  Kaiserin,  with  a laugh; 
merdiener  Liick  made  inquiries  for  me  at  the  paint  store, 
and  I followed  the  directions  to  the  letter.” 

Next  evening  their  Majesties  retired  in  high  glee,  being 
well  satisfied  at  their  reunion,  and  the  Empress’s  little 
programme  seems  to  have  worked  to  perfection  till — but 
let  Her  Majesty  tell  her  own  story. 

^^No  sooner  were  the  lights  on,”  reported  Auguste 
Victoria  to  her  first  Lady,  Countess  Brockdorff,  the  follow- 
ing day,  ‘'and  while  I myself  was  settling  down  in  the 
second  chair,  than  I saw  the  Emperor  start  up  half  sur- 
prised, half  angry,  with  his  hands  and  other  portions  of  his 
body  thickly  besmeared  with  pigment  that,  I felt  to  my 
horror,  also  adhered  to  my  body.  With  the  Kaiser,  you 
know,  cleanliness  is  almost  a passion,  and  his  repugnance 
to  coming  into  contact  with  anything  like  wet  paint  is  so 
great  that  he  cannot  help  losing  his  temper. 


34 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


^My  dear,’  he  said,  ‘ this  is  a sorry  joke.’  And  neither 
explanations  nor  excuses  were  of  the  slightest  avail. 

‘ Ring  for  turpentine.’  That  is  all  he  would  say. 

I awakened  Haake,  and  told  her  to  order  Madame  von 
Larisch  to  send  up  a bottle  of  the  stuff;  but,  needless  to 
say,  she  had  none  on  hand.  Then  the  Emperor  demanded 
that  one  of  the  body  gendarmes  ride  into  town  and  fetch 
a bottle.  Like  a simpleton,  he  awakened  the  apothecary, 
only  to  be  told  that  he  must  go  to  a drug  store.  Drug 
stores,  as  you  know,  have  no  night-bells,  and  are  not 
obliged  to  serve  customers  after  the  ordinary  closing  time. 
It  took  the  gendarme  a full  hour  to  get  what  he  wanted, 
and  even  then  he  was  obliged  to  invoke  aid  from  a military 
patrol. 

‘^The  next  thirty  or  forty  minutes  I spent  in  cleansing 
my  lord’s  legs,  arms,  and  hands,  and  afterward  poor 
Haake  had  to  do  the  same  for  me.  It  was  the  most  mis- 
erable night  I ever  experienced.” 

While,  as  stated,  this  imperial  bedroom  is  remarkable 
neither  for  great  splendor  nor  simplicity, — we  expect  to 
encounter  the  one  or  the  other  extreme  in  such  a place, — 
it  is  not  without  psychological  interest.  There  is  the  Em- 
peror’s table  de  nuit,  for  instance,  whose  upper  drawer,  at 
night  always  half  open,  contains  a self-cocking  revolver, 
fully  loaded. 

If  one  reflects  how  unfamiliar  such  displays  are  to 
women  in  Germany, — they  do  not  in  the  least  mind 
sabres  or  guns,  — the  Empress’s  alarm  at  this  thing  of 
ivory,  steel,  and  silver  may  be  imagined.  How  often  she 
has  pleaded  with  William  to  discard  the  weapon,  but  the 
Kaiser  insists  upon  having  it  near  him.  If  Alexander 
of  Bulgaria  had  slept  with  a six-shooter,  he  might  have 
founded  a dynasty  and  perhaps  be  still  alive,”  is  one  of  his 
arguments, — a queer  one,  to  say  the  least.  As  a matter  of 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


35 


fact,  the  sister  of  one  of  the  conspirators  who  conducted 
him  to  Reni,  August  21,  1886,  kept  Alexander  company 
during  the  eventful  night  when  abdication  was  forced  upon 
him,  and  this  young  lady  was,  under  the  circumstances, 
certainly  better  protection  than  any  number  of  weapons. 
A revolver  might  have  been  brushed  aside;  with  a girl, 
vigorously  taking  her  lover’s  part,  it  was  not  so  easy  a 
matter.  Another  gruesome  object  in  the  room  is  the  so- 
called  Sterbekommodey  an  old  mahogany  chest  of  drawers, 
the  top  of  which  is  loaded  with  emblems  of  death  and 
sorrow. 

In  the  centre  stands  a large  engraving,  in  a brown 
carved  frame,  representing  Our  Saviour  with  the  Crown  of 
Thorns,  his  eyes  looking  heavenward,  while  at  the  sides  are 
placed  portraits  of  the  Emperors  William  I and  Frederick 
III,  of  the  late  Empress  Auguste,  and  Ludwig  of  Bavaria, 
all  clad  in  shrouds.  These  pictures  were  made  especially 
for  His  Majesty,  and  are  not  procurable  anywhere.  Strange 
to  say,  the  morbid  memento  mori  has  to  be  set  up  in  every 
imperial  residence  where  the  Court  stops  for  any  length  of 
time.  It  is  carted  from  Potsdam  to  Berlin,  from  there  to 
Wilhelmshoehe,  to  Kiel,  to  Hubertusstock,  to  the  Yacht 
Hohenzollern,  and  to  the  Rominten  hunting-box. 

The  Kaiser  is  a good  husband,  and  is  adored  by  his  wife. 
That  Auguste  Victoria’s  love  for  him  is  only  equalled  by 
her  fear  of  him  is  perhaps  not  his  fault.  He  was  heir  to 
a mighty  crown  when  he  married  her, — she,  the  daughter  of 
a penniless  pretender  who  had  to  sign  away  his  hereditary 
rights  to  the  Duchies  of  Schleswig  and  Holstein  before  the 
engagement  was  ratified  by  the  old  Kaiser,  and  Prussia 
granted  him  the  indemnity  of  $75,000  per  year,  on  which 
the  family  is  now  struggling  along. 

The  consciousness  of  this  humiliating  bargain  on  the  one 
hand,  and  of  William’s  overpowering  egotism  on  the  other, 


36 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


have  sufficed  to  make  a wife,  constitutionally  not  without 
energy,  like  wax  in  his  hand. 

Sitting  one  night  in  the  Royal  box  at  the  Opera  House 
with  Duke  Gunther  of  Schleswig,  I heard  him  laugh  im- 
moderately at  the  remark  of  a stage  hero,  who,  being  asked : 
**Do  you  ever  quarrel?”  briskly  replied:  “No,  not  if  I 
have  my  own  way.  ’ ’ 

“ It  reminds  me  so  much  of  my  beloved  brother-in-law 
and  sister,”  said  His  Highness ; “ they  never  fight,  because 
he  sees  to  it  that  his  slightest  whims  are  obeyed,  nay,  more, 
anticipated.” 

That  fits  the  case  exactly : William  forever  enforcing  his 
own  will,  his  notions,  his  idiosyncrasies,  and  downright 
crazes  by  sheer  force  of  sublime  egomania;  the  Kaiserin 
perpetually  in  a flutter  to  carry  out  his  demands  and  make 
everybody  else  dance  to  the  imperial  piper’s  tune!  Only 
in  one  respect  does  he  consult  Her  Majesty’s  wishes  with- 
out reference  to  his  own  inclination;  namely,  by  hardly 
ever  absenting  himself  from  the  marriage-bed  when  at 
home.  Yet  this  seeming  subservience  may  be,  after  all, 
but  the  outcome  of  a desire  for  numerous  progeny,  for 
the  penny-a-liner’s  “continuous  sick  man”  is  inordinately 
proud  of  his  sireship. 

The  imperial  couple  sleep  together  on  healthy  days  as 
well  as  when  sickness  befalls  one  or  the  other,  and  even 
the  near  approach  of  Her  Majesty’s  confinement  makes 
no  difference  in  this  decidedly  bourgeois  arrangement,  to 
which,  by  the  way,  all  ladies  of  the  Holstein  family  with 
whom  I have  come  into  contact  are  addicted. 

On  a summer  day  of  1892,  a month  or  so  before  Princess 
Louise  was  born,  the  Empress  expressed  a wish  to  inspect 
her  lying-in  chambers  at  the  Marble  Palace,  and  previous 
to  driving  out  gave  orders  that  Kanunerdiener  Brachwitz 
should  attend  her  there,  while  Countess  Brockdorff  and 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


37 


myself  were  to  be  of  the  party.  The  palace,  at  that  time, 
was  uninhabited,  and  Brachwitz  met  us  at  the  door.  Besides 
him,  two  other  men  were  present,  the  castellan  and  the 
chasseur. 

*‘Herr  Brachwitz,”  said  the  Kaiserin,  catching  sight  of 
the  man  and  completely  ignoring  the  character  of  her 
audience,  ‘^a  word  with  you  before  I forget  it.  His 
Majesty  will  sleep  with  me  as  usual  to  the  last  minute, 
and  only  after  the  confinement  will  he  occupy  his  own 
room.  So  be  careful  to  put  all  the  Kaiser’s  things  in  our 
joint  bedroom,  in  the  rear  of  the  grand  salon ^ where  I intend 
to  lie  my  weeks  {wo  ich  Woe  hen  liege)." 

The  Kam7nerdienery  who  is  a modest  fellow,  and,  more- 
over, unmarried,  was  speechless,  and  so  taken  back  that 
he  failed  to  answer  the  obligatory:  ^‘At  your  command, 
Your  Majesty.”  However,  in  the  evening,  when,  as  is 
customary  in  great  houses,  the  incident  was  passed  in  re- 
view in  the  servants’  hall,  together  with  other  happenings 
of  the  day,  one  of  his  colleagues  remarked:  ^‘That’s  a 
mere  trifle,  Herr  Brachwitz.  When  I was  in  the  service  of 

Countess  O (I  omit  the  name,  for  the  lady  might 

object  to  its  use  in  connection  with  this  story).  Her  Lady- 
ship thought  nothing  of  changing  her  chemise  before 
me,  so  completely  did  she  regard  one  of  our  class  as  a 
figurehead.  ’ ’ 

Even  His  Majesty’s  terror  of  disease  capitulates  before 
the  alcove. 

In  June,  1891,  when  the  Prince  of  Naples’s  visit  to  the 
Neues  Palais  was  announced,  the  Empress  was  ill  with 
nettle-rash,  and  had  to  take  to  her  bed  on  the  very  day  the 
diminutive,  monkey-like  Savoyard  arrived  at  Wildpark. 
As  it  happened,  the  Dowager  Duchess  of  Schleswig  and  the 
Duchess  Frederick  Ferdinand  of  Glucksburg  had  been  with 
us  during  the  last  two  or  three  weeks,  and  by  arrangement 


38 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


they  were  to  withdraw  upon  Victor  Emanuel’s  arrival 
to  make  room  for  the  Empress’s  younger,  unmarried 
sister,  Princess  Feo,  who  was  to  meet  His  Royal  Highness 
with  a view  to  a betrothal.  The  old  lady,  for  a wonder, 
retired  in  good  order,  and  Duchess  Caroline  Mathilda’s 
things  were  at  the  station, — Her  Highness  wanted  to  get 
home,  as  she  expected  her  fifth  child  by  the  end  of  August; 
but  when  she  came  to  bid  the  Kaiserin  good-bye.  Her 
Majesty  had  changed  the  programme. 

“For  God’s  sake,  don’t  leave  me!”  she  cried;  “you 
have  no  idea  how  unhappy  I am.  The  Kaiser  will  be 
busy  all  the  time  with  his  guest,  and,  despite  my  illness,  I 
shall  see  him  only  at  night.  ’ ’ 

“But,  sister,”  mildly  suggested  the  Duchess,  “you  will 
not  compel  Willy  to  sleep  with  you  when  you  have  the 
fever!  ” 

“And  why  not!”  bristled  up  Auguste  Victoria ; “the 
doctor  tells  me  the  rash  is  not  infectious,  and  I insist  upon 
having  my  husband  near  me  whether  there  are  visitors  or 
not.” 

The  usual  fetes  were  held.  Princess  Feo,  wearing  some 
of  Her  Majesty’s  diamonds,  doing  the  honors,  while  the 
Duchess  did  not  show  herself  at  all,  but  took  her  meals  in 
the  Empress’s  study,  bed,  or  dressing  room,  wherever  the 
distinguished  patient  could  be  induced  to  remain  for  any 
length  of  time,  for  she  roamed  from  one  apartment  to  the 
other  in  a vain  attempt  to  obtain  comfort  from  the  burn- 
ing, itching,  and  irritation  peculiar  to  her  malady.  The 
poor  Empress  looked  awful ; in  the  course  of  a few  hours 
her  whole  appearance  had  so  changed  that  she  would  not 
allow  herself  to  be  seen  by  any  of  her  gentlemen  in  attend- 
ance, and  gave  strict  orders  that  no  male  servant  was  to 
come  near  her  apartments.  Her  face  was  swollen,  and  all 
over  her  body  the  skin  was  covered  with  an  eruption 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


39 


tingling  with  fever.  It  was  so  bad  that  even  dinner  eti- 
quette was  set  aside,  and  the  chamberwoman  and  up- 
stairs maid  had  to  wait  on  the  royal  sisters,  and  acquitted 
themselves  awkwardly  enough,  you  may  be  sure. 

Finally,  after  the  itching  surface  had  been  dusted  with 
flour,  and  after  the  use  of  vigorous  emetics,  the  rash  disap- 
peared as  suddenly  as  it  had  come,  and  the  Kaiserin  was 
able  to  emerge  from  her  retirement  shortly  before  His 
Italian  Royal  Highness’s  departure.  While  she  was  being 
dressed  for  dinner,  I was  sent  for  to  see  if  the  dhollete 
waist  did  not  perchance  disclose  marks  of  the  illness  just 
passed. 

‘‘I  won  my  bet,”  said  my  mistress,  triumphantly,  after 
acknowledging  my  compliments  on  her  appearance. 

What  bet,  if  it  pleases  Your  Majesty?  ” 

“Ah!  I thought  you  knew  all  about  it.  Countess.  You 
see,  I assured  the  Emperor,  that,  if  he  would  but  put  up 
with  my  troubled  sleep  and  general  ugliness,  I would  try  to 
do  the  honors  at  his  side  before  the  Prince  left.  Although 
doubting  the  prospect,  he  staked  three  Vienna  hats  on  a 
wager  I offered;  namely,  that  I would  be  out  to-day. 
Poor  husband  ! he  lost,  and  after  all  he  endured  on  my 
account ! ” And,  with  a little  shudder.  Her  Majesty  con- 
cluded: “If  I had  been  Kaiser,  ten  horses  could  not  have 
dragged  me  to  a bedfellow  such  as  I have  been  for  the 
last  three  or  four  days.  ’ ’ 

That  was  an  afterthought,  you  notice,  but  not  the  most 
disagreeable,  by  any  means,  growing  out  of  that  eventful 
visit.  Both  Emperor  and  Empress  had  fondly  hoped  that 
the  Prince  of  Naples  would  fall  in  love  with  Feo,  a belief 
that  was  doomed  from  the  outset,  the  Prince  never  having 
lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  he  needed  a very  handsome  wife 
to  treat  his  future  subjects  to  a successor  at  all  likely  to 
silence  allusions  to  the  Darwinian  theory. 


40 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


A rough  estimate,  gathered  from  the  Kaiser’s  printed 
calendars  that  are  published  for  the  benefit  of  court  offi- 
cials, body-servants,  and  newspapers,  and  minutely  set 
forth  how  and  where  His  Majesty  spends  his  time,  or  is 
supposed  to  spend  it,  would  seem  to  indicate  that  in  the 
course  of  a year  he  is  home  about  one  hundred  days, — that 
is,  for  one  hundred  days  he  lives  with  Her  Majesty  under 
the  same  roof ; but  this  circumstance  does  not  in  any  way 
indicate  that  their  Majesties  take  their  meals  together,  or 
even  see  each  other  daily,  except  in  bed  and  at  breakfast. 
I clip  at  random  one  of  those  daily  programmes : 

9.15  A.M.  Report  by  the  chief  of  the  military  cabinet. 

10.30  A.M.  Report  by  the  Chancellor. 

12.30  P.M.  Audience  to  newly-appointed  army  officers. 
Luncheon  on  the  train. 

2 P.M.  Departure  for  hunt  at  Count  Finkenstein’s.  At 
midnight,  return  to  the  Neues  Palais. 

Or  take  another  day : 

9 A.M.  Review  of  the  Regiment  on  the  Born- 

stedter  Feld. 

1.30  P.M.  Luncheon  in  the  mess-room. 

6 p.  M.  Dinner  with  the  officers  of  the  Garde  du  Corps. 
Hour  of  return  not  stated. 

The  reader  perceives  an  interval  of  several  hours  between 
luncheon  and  dinner,  which  might  be  devoted  to  wife  and 
children ; but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  a person  so 
continually  on  the  move  as  the  Emperor  needs  a corre- 
sponding amount  of  rest,  repose,  and  freshening  up,  even 
though  in  the  bright  lexicon  of  William  there  may  be  no 
such  word  as  knocking  off.  Unofficially,  the  Kaiser  retires 
to  his  dressing-room  after  luncheon,  goes  to  his  little 
bachelor  bed,  sleeps  an  hour  and  a half,  and  then  jumps 
into  a hot  bath,  followed  by  an  ablution  of  cold  sea-water. 
That,  of  course,  puts  new  vigor  into  him,  and  makes  him 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


41 


ready  for  the  evening’s  campaign,  but  his  family  see  him 
not  in  the  interim. 

Though  William  never  pays  the  slightest  attention  to 
time-tables,  a special  train  being  good  enough  for  him  at 
any  season,  he  is  enough  of  a Potsdamer  to  return  home  at 
midnight  when  the  Court  is  established  in  the  Neues  Palais. 
Naturally,  nobody,  who  is  anybody,  is  astir  at  that  hour, 
but  that  does  not  prevent  him  from  making  as  much  noise 
as  if  it  were  noon : clatter  of  wheels  and  hoofs,  horses 
driven  at  breakneck  speed,  sentinels  shouting  and  striking 
their  fire-arms  on  the  pavement,  seneschal,  adjutants,  por- 
ters, secretaries,  footmen,  and  valets  standing  at  attention, 
or  flying  hither  and  thither,  and  all  candles  and  lamps  in 
the  passage-ways  and  rooms  blazing  forth.  Perish  the  sleep 
of  retainers  when  the  lord  is  awake  ! 

These  midnight  specials  are  bad  enough ; but  when  the 
fleet-footed  four-in-hand  is  pressed  into  service  for  journeys 
to  and  from  Berlin,  Her  Majesty’s  eyes  grow  red  with 
weeping,  and  her  maids  wish  themselves  far  away;  for, 
as  to  home-coming,  the  quartet  of  Hungarian  grays  is 
even  less  reliable  than  the  railway,  while  starting-hour  and 
chance  stops  on  the  way  are  alike  mysteries.  Ah  ! to  be 
German  Empress  is  not  all  champagne  and  oysters,  by  any 
means. 

But  the  worst  of  it  is  when  the  calendar  reads:  ^^His 
Majesty  intends  to  spend  the  night  at  the  Berlin  Schloss.” 
True,  that  big  pile  has  no  Palais  Netherland  connected 
with  it  by  a covered  archway  as  the  palace  Unter  den 
Linden  where  William’s  grandfather  dwelt, — in  his  salad 
days,  the  old  man  used  this  convenience  for  nocturnal 
poaching  trips  on  strange  preserves  acclimated  in  the 
Netherland  mansion ; but  the  Schloss  is  so  large,  has  so 
many  entrances,  and  there  are  so  many  people  living  in  it, 
that  the  arrival  of  a lady  more  or  less  would  not  evoke  the 


42 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


slightest  comment  among  the  sentinels  and  doorkeepers. 
What  opportunities ! what  food  for  jealous  reflection ! 

Whether  William  is  away  for  a couple  of  days,  or  a week, 
or  a month,  he  never  writes  to  the  Kaiserin,  either  directly 
or  in  answer  to  letters  received  from  her.  His  adjutants, 
or  other  officers  on  duty,  must  attend  to  this  as  to  every 
other  item  of  correspondence,  and  such  entertaining  news 
as : His  Majesty  arrived,  or  departed,  safely ; glorious 

reception;”  or,  “His  Majesty  shot  so  many  hares,  stuck 
a prodigious  number  of  pigs,  or  killed  so  many  deer  or 
buck;  weather  such  and  such,” — signed.  House-marshal 
von  Lyncker,  or  Master  of  the  Hounds, — often  form  the 
only  link  between  the  imperial  minds  for  many  weeks. 
Always  of  tantalizing  uniformity,  the  scantiness  of  these 
messages  is  indeed  strange,  considering  that  they  are  sent 
toll-free. 

But  if  the  Empress  has  to  be  satisfied  with  meagre  tidings 
of  her  lord,  the  Kaiser  gets  along  on  even  less  home  intel- 
ligence. Though  Her  Majesty  writes  by  every  mail,  it 
would  never  do  to  lose  precious  minutes  that  might  be 
spent  in  amusement  or  sightseeing  by  opening  his  wife’s 
letters,  the  more  so  when  one  is  sure  they  contain  only 
nothingnesses  (for  items  of  interest  must  be  telegraphed) ; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  ignorance  of  any  of  the  petty  in- 
formation forwarded  with  such  touching  regularity  might 
cause  vexation  and  suspicion.  So  the  Emperor  diversifies 
the  return  trips  from  his  jaunts  by  carefully  studying  all 
the  missives  received  from  Auguste  Victoria  day  by  day, — 
not  an  original  method  among  husbands,  I surmise. 

A continuous  source  of  amusement  to  His  Majesty  are  the 
minute  accounts  of  his  daily  labors  in  the  vineyard  of  state- 
craft, and  of  almost  any  other  vocation  imaginable,  pub- 
lished in  books,  magazines,  pamphlets,  and  newspapers  with 
a minuteness  of  detail  and  conceived  in  a know-all  vein 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


43 


of  assurance,  interlarded  with  deepest"  and  ‘^highest" 
admiration,  that  make  them  soul-stirring  and  pathetic. 

These  descriptions  of  what  is  indescribable  (for  the  greater 
part  of  the  labors  ascribed  to  His  Majesty  are  creations  of 
the  authors’  fancies)  commenced  to  pour  in  on  us  almost 
with  the  beginning  of  the  present  reign ; but  the  Kaiser’s 
speech  to  the  municipal  council  of  Berlin,  on  October  27, 
1888,  when  he  protested  against  the  imputation  that  he 
travelled  around  for  the  fun  of  the  thing,  gave  it  its  real 
momentum. 

I have  placed  my  health  and  all  my  bodily  resources 
in  jeopardy  to  serve  the  cause  of  peace  and  to  promote  the 
Fatherland’s  prosperity  by  visiting  allies  and  friends  in 
all  parts  of  the  world,’’  he  cried;  and  German  opinion, 
always  ready  to  be  corrected,  at  once  changed  its  sing- 
song of  the  Kaiser-on-the-tramp  into  that  of  the  Kaiser-at- 
work ; and  ever  since  have  sycophants  and  mere  imitators 
pronounced  William  a veritable  perpetuum  mobile  of  useful 
activity. 

I do  not  propose  to  weary  the  reader  by  attempting  a 
detailed  account  of  the  Kaiser’s  employments, — of  when 
he  deigns  to  get  up  and  when  he  ^ ^ graciously  ’’  retires;  works 
at  governing,  and  governs  the  work  of  others;  listens  to 
reports  and  asserts  himself;  fences,  rides,  drives,  and  what 
not.  These  are  matters  for  the  official  chronicler  to  re- 
cord, and  the  reader  will  find  them  nicely  done  up  in 
parcels,  bound  with  black,  white,  and  red  ribbons,  in 
Mr.  Bigelow’s  various  accounts  of  the  Kaiser’s  life  as  the 
Kaiser  sees  it, — that  life  which  is  but  a ‘^whirligig  of  hard 
labor  for  the  good  of  the  people  and  for  the  peace  of 
Europe,’’  or  else  an  attempt  to  square  accounts  with  the 
Supreme  Creator.  The  Kaiser  imagines  he  is  going  through 
one  of  these  high-minded  performances  continuously, 
whether  he  draws  plans  for  an  impossible  battle-ship,  or 


44 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


part  of  the  civil  list,  whether  he  risks  his  bones  in  a Troika 
driven  by  a German,  who  knows  no  more  about  handling 
three  Asiatic  stallions^  than  I do  about  cutting  diamonds, 
or  reads  a speech  from  the  throne : — it  is  all  fish  in  the  net  of 
imperial  aggrandizement  thrown  out  at  random  to  entwine 
loyal  minds  at  home  and  abroad, — people  who  think  it  an 
honor  to  be  dazzled  by  princes,  and  wink  quite  honestly 
at  royal  radiance.” 

The  underlying  idea  of  Bigelow’s  and  kindred  efforts  is 
to  keep  up  the  myth  of  incessant  service  rendered  to  the 
crown,  a martyrdom  of  work  broken  occasionally  by  a 
stroke  of  genius,  such  as  writing  a novel,  painting  a land- 
scape, conceiving  a series  of  allegorical  pictures,  composing 
music,  or  inventing  this,  that,  or  the  other  thing. 

Mind,  I do  not  deny  that  the  Emperor  performs  these 
various  tasks — after  a fashion  that  will  be  explained  in 
another  place  ; but  I gainsay  the  Herculean  nature  imputed 
to  most  of  them,  and,  furthermore,  distinctly  reject  the 
idea  that  they  are  undertaken  to  alleviate  a mind  stagger- 
ing under  the  weight  of  responsibilities  and  burdened  by 
excessive  desk-work.  We  can  well  imagine  Frederick  II 
ordering  a flute  concert  to  be  improvised  after  a day’s 
bloody  work  in  the  field,  or  following  a disgusting  parley 
with  his  brother-counterfeiters.’*  Napoleon,  flying  from 


' The  Russian  coachman  whom  Czar  Alexander  sent  along  when  he 
presented  the  Kaiser  with  the  famous  vehicle,  in  the  summer  of  1890, 
was  dismissed  because  he  had  the  hardihood  to  ask  fifty  dollars  salary 
per  month,  and  the  native  succeeding  him  promptly  wrecked  the  Troika. 

^ During  the  Seven  Years’  War,  Frederick  II,  assuming  the  royal 
privilege  of  raising  revenue,  resorted  to  the  coinage  of  millions  of 
Thalers  of  about  half  the  value  of  the  standard  coin;  these  he  im- 
printed with  the  effigies  of  the  Prince  of  Bernburg  and  the  King  of 
Poland,  and  forced  their  circulation  among  the  people  of  the  subju- 
gated districts. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


45 


victory  to  victory  in  Italy,  needed  nothing  so  much  as  his 
pleasant  harlot  of  a Josephine ; but  these  were  men  of  con- 
summate brain-power,  men  who,  after  tiring  out  twenty 
geniuses  a day,  needed  but  the  tonic  of  sweet  melodies,  or 
an  heure  du  berger^  to  be  ready  for  another  siege  of  labor. 

William  is  not  made  of  the  clay  of  the  philosopher  of 
Sans  Souci,  nor  of  that  of  the  lion  of  St.  Helena,  be  he 
ever  so  clever  a masquerader  in  the  lion’s  skin.  At  school 
and  at  college  the  highest  degree  attained  by  him  was 
‘‘satisfactory;” — another  pupil,  being  no  more  satisfac- 
tory, would  probably  have  been  called  incompetent.  His 
attempt  at  handling  large  masses  of  troops,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Emperor  of  Austria  and  the  King  of  Saxony, 
in  Silesia,  September,  1890,  led  to  disaster,  while  Count 
Waldersee  preferred  to  resign  as  chief  of  the  General 
Staff  rather  than  permit  the  Emperor  to  meddle  with  his 
department  and  ‘ ‘ periodically  ’ ’ discharge  batteries  of  well- 
meant  ignorance  at  him,  as  the  General  told  Bismarck 
during  a visit  to  Friedrichsruhe  shortly  after  assuming 
command  of  the  Ninth  Corps. 

Graf  Seckendorf  furnishes  an  amusing  skit  on  William’s 
tale  of  woe  about  “risking  health  and  life  to  save  the 
Fatherland.” 

“Enduring  fatigues,  he  calls  it,”  says  the  Count;  “to 
be  bathed  and  groomed ; breakfast ; take  a canter  on  a horse 
previously  tired  out,  and  so  trained  as  to  give  the  rider  not 
the  least  trouble ; breakfast  again ; ride  to  a parade,  or,  while 
stretching  on  a lounge,  listen  to  reports  carefully  worded 
so  that  they  may  be  agreeable  to  the  imperial  digestion ; 
before  luncheon,  some  pleasant  conversation  with  officers 
from  all  parts  of  the  country ; meal  diversified  by  clever 
men  and  women,  drummed  together  for  the  purpose  of 
disporting  their  wit  and  retailing  the  latest  gossip ; after 
luncheon,  a cold  rub-down  and  an  hour’s  absolute  rest  in  a 


46 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


comfortable  bed;  dressed  anew  by  smart  servants;  meal 
number  four, — coffee  and  cakes, — a drive  or  lawn-tennis ; a 
minister  ora  general  makes  his  report;  after  dinner,  theatre 
or  reception;  finally,  meal  number  five;  bed. 

‘^Or,  instead  of  so  unexciting  an  afternoon,  an  im- 
promptu hunting  trip,  a cruise  on  the  Havel  lakes,  and, 
on  extraordinary  occasions,  a state  council,  a visit  to  the 
Chancellor  to  air  one’s  opinion,  or  to  a rehearsal  to  cate- 
chise actors  and  actresses.  Is  that  hard  work?” 

Not  for  the  master  who,  mapping  out  a twelve,  fourteen,  or 
eighteen  hours’  programme,  enjoys  every  minute  of  it  while 
his  servants  drudge, — and  they  are  all  servants  in  William’s 
eye,  be  they  called  Bismarck  or  Count  Hahnke,  Adolph 
Menzel,  or  Poultney  Bigelow;  ‘‘his”  decorations,  “his” 
uniforms,  “his”  fancy  costumes,  decreed  for  councillors, 
artists,  friends  of  the  chase,  and  aristocrats ; “his”  livery, 
and  last,  but  not  least,  “his”  very  condescension,  make 
them  so ; he  rests  when  he  feels  disposed  and  as  long  as  he 
wishes,  even  while  his  attendants  report,  standing  an  hour 
or  so  in  heavy  accoutrement ; and  that  his  strength  may 
never  fail  him  he  partakes  of  five  meals  per  day,  while 
“servants”  not  admitted  to  the  imperial  table  must  be 
content,  very  frequently,  to  dine  off  the  vapors  from  the 
dishes  borne  past  them. 

“My  indefatigability,”  “my  prowess,”  are  perpetual 
themes  with  the  Kaiser,  and  “You  should  have  seen  von 
Hiilsen  or  von  Kessel  (both  adjutants)  puff  and  gasp  after 
our  half-hour’s  fencing,  while  I was  as  fresh  as  if  I had 
just  stepped  from  my  bath,”  is  one  of  his  favorite  boasts. 
He  omits,  however,  to  state,  that,  while  wearing  a linen 
jacket  himself,  these  functionaries  are  encased  in  their 
stiff-collared,  long-frocked  uniforms,  weighted  down  by 
silver  tassels  and  braids,  and  with  a heavy  sabre  at  their 
side,  laboring,  moreover,  under  the  difficulty  of  having  to 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


47 


court  defeat,  for  it  would  not  only  be  imprudent,  but  even 
dangerous,  to  forestall  William’s  exultations.  No  wonder 
the  gentlemen  lose  their  breath. 

As  Caligula  wished  that  the  Roman  people  had  but  one 
neck  that  he  might  cut  it  off,  so  the  Kaiser  would  like 
to  see  the  entire  military  force  of  the  Fatherland  personi- 
fied in  one  being,  that  he  might  practise  on  it  as  on  a lay 
figure, — march,  turn  about  face,  take  the  ditch,  prostrate 
yourself,  stand  on  your  head, — but,  considering  that  the 
Reichstag  has  a voice  in  the  matter  of  public  expenditure. 
His  Majesty  must  be  content  to  keep  but  two  adjutants 
continuously  employed.  These  gentlemen,  together  with  the 
members  of  the  military  household,  including  representa- 
tives of  all  arms  and  of  the  navy,  rarely  leave  the  Kaiser’s 
presence.  Their  office  adjoins  His  Majesty’s  study  on  one 
side,  and  is  connected  with  the  orderlies’  room  on  the 
other,  wherever  the  Court  is  established.  In  the  Neues 
Palais  it  is  situated  on  the  ground-floor,  facing  the  bar- 
racks of  the  Lehr  battalion, — a not  very  spacious  but 
dull  room  covered  by  a gray  carpet  and  furnished  with  a 
number  of  red  damask  fauteuils  placed  in  front  of  writing- 
desks. 

In  the  orderlies’  room  three  sorts  of  men  are  present  at 
all  times,  day  and  night, — a terzetto  of  chasseurs,  as  many 
body  gendarmes,  and  several  infantry  from  the  Lehr  bat- 
talion. The  first-named  belong  to  the  variety  of  Jaegers 
whom  the  Prussian  Court  employs  in  and  out  doors,  on  the 
box  of  the  carriage,  and  at  the  chase.  They  rank  a little 
above  the  flunky,  being  admitted  to  private  rooms,  and 
wait  on  their  Majesties  when  other  servants  are  ex- 
cluded. However,  their  present  employment  is  not  half 
so  confidential  as  it  used  to  be.  The  Kammerjaegers  of 
old  were  engaged  to  chase  the  disturbers  of  royal  peace 
or  pleasure,  in  the  shape  of  fleas  and  crawling  members  of 


48 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


the  bug  family,  out  of  the  rooms  {Kammerti),  and  also 
‘‘from  the  persons  of  the  king’s  and  queen’s  majesty,”  as 
the  chroniclers  say,  and,  let  us  hope,  from  the  persons  of 
the  princes  and  princesses  too. 

The  body  gendarmes  are  members  of  a battalion  of 
picked  men  assigned  to  special  duty  upon  the  King. 
Neither  in  peace  nor  war  do  they  enter  into  the  general 
service  of  the  army,  and  the  Reichstag  tries,  year  by  year, 
to  abolish  these  household  troops  on  the  plea  that  the 
officers  and  men  are  nothing  short  of  armed  flunkies. 

The  duties  of  all  these  persons  are  strictly  defined. 
Visitors  calling  upon  His  Majesty’s  personal  business  are 
received  by  the  chasseurs,  and,  if  persons  of  distinction, 
are  conducted  into  the  adjutant’s  room;  if  purveyors, 
or  messengers  bringing  packages,  the  Emperor’s  valets 
and  wardrobemen  on  watch  in  a chamber  above,  that  can 
be  reached  by  a dark  staircase,  are  notified. 

The  uniformed  orderlies  attend  to  military  visitors, 
each  gendarme  having  his  horse  ready  in  the  near-by 
stables  to  gallop  away  with  despatches  at  a moment’s 
notice,  while  the  infantrymen’s  bicycles  stand  in  the  court- 
yard near  the  windows  that  serve  as  doors.  Thus  the  Em- 
peror is  enabled  to  put  into  execution  on  the  spot  any 
idea  of  a private  or  public  nature  that  may  suddenly 
strike  him:  he  notifies  one  of  his  adjutants  by  a ring  or 
call,  the  adjutant  gives  the  order  to  the  galloping  mounted 
or  wheeled,  and  the  thing  is  done  before  anybody  has  time 
to  consider  its  advisability  or  possibly  troublesome  exigen- 
cies, the  telephone  and  the  telegraph — the  latter  established 
in  a near-by  pavilion — aiding  and  abetting  this  mode  of 
doing  business. 

An  adjutant  is  on  duty  two  days  and  two  nights  each 
week,  and  ranks  with  the  high  officials  of  the  household. 
Horses  and  carriages  are  at  his  disposal,  and  he  lives  on  the 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


49 


fat  of  the  land.  The  quarters  of  these  gentlemen  are  in  the 
south  wing  of  the  palace,  near  the  historical  apartments  of 
Frederick  the  Great,  and  each  has  a single  chamber,  with  a 
cabinet  for  his  servant,  but  no  toilet  or  bath  room. 

Nearer  to  the  Kaiser  than  all  these  faithful  servants  are 
his  two  Dachshunds,  called  Teckels,  biting,  snarling  little 
brutes  with  jaws  measuring  half  the  length  of  their  smooth 
body,  and  a corresponding  penchant  for  people’s  calves, 
skirts,  and  petticoats.  Except  to  the  bedroom,  from  which 
they  are  excluded  out  of  respect  for  the  Empress’s  legs, 
these  pets  follow  His  Majesty  everywhere,  and  when  they 
make  inroads  on  folks’  flesh  and  blood,  or  clothes,  William, 
who  protects  and  coddles  them,  thinks  it  huge  fun. 

Whether  the  cunning  Teckels  know  their  imperial  pa- 
tron’s overpowering  position,  I cannot  say ; but  it  looks 
almost  like  it,  for,  in  the  exuberance  of  their  mischievous 
spirits,  even  the  little  propriety  pounded  into  them  in  their 
earliest  youth  is  now  neglected,  and  Court-marshal  von 
Eulenburg,  whose  pleasant  duty  it  is  to  make  both  ends 
meet  in  the  royal  menage,  has  his  hands  full  covering  up 
the  damage  to  furniture,  decorations,  and  bric-a-brac  in  the 
Teckels’  path,  or  to  such  articles  as  they  are  able  to  reach  by 
high  vaults  and  other  caprioles  that  the  Kaiser  has  taught 
them. 

Why  don’t  you  poison  the  beasts?  ” once  said  Eulen- 
burg’s colleague,  pious  Baron  von  Mirbach  who  is  on  the 
Empress’s  staff,  when  His  Excellency  had  wearied  him  with 
a jeremiad  about  the  Dachshunds''  wickedness. 

have  thought  of  that  myself,  and  would  gladly  go  to 
this  extremity,  seeing  that  it  meets  with  your  most  Christian 
approval,  if  I were  sure  that  there  would  be  no  successors. 
But  His  Majesty  might  take  it  into  his  head  to  surround 
himself  with  Danish  hounds,  a la  Bismarck,  and  then  none 
of  us  would  be  safe.  ’ ’ 


50 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


A very  funny  incident  in  connection  with  the  Teckels 
happened  in  the  winter  of  1893,  at  the  Berlin  Schloss, 
when  a select  company,  in  which  ladies  in  grand  toilet 
predominated,  had  assembled  at  1.15  p.m.,  in  the  Pillar 
Room,  to  await  their  Majesties’  coming,  in  order  to  form 
the  usual  procession  to  the  dining-hall,  where  a ceremo- 
nious breakfast  awaited  us. 

As  is  customary.  Her  Majesty’s  Dames  du  jour^  Countess 
Keller  and  Fraulein  von  Gersdorff,  stood  a little  ahead  of 
the  rest,  facing  the  door  through  which  Her  Majesty  was 
to  enter,  and,  the  august  hosts  being  expected  at  any 
moment,  everybody  was  on  the  alert. 

Suddenly  the  portals  opened, — bowings  and  scrapings, 
and  most  submissive  salutations, — but,  lo  ! only  the  Dachs- 
hunds rushed  in. 

^Deste  said  Herr  von  Egloffstein,  who  stood  at  my 
side ; while  Prince  Frederick  Leopold,  coming  in  just  then, 
remarked:  ‘‘I  would  give  anything  to  have  on  jack-boots 
and  spurs ! Wouldn’t  I whisk  them  off,  or  at  least  one 
of  the  litter,  through  the  window  ! ” 

The  Teckels,  on  their  part,  had  no  sooner  caught  sight 
of  the  silk  stockings  of  the  courtiers,  than  they  began  to 
bark  menacingly,  causing  these  worthies,  who  ten  seconds 
before  had  paraded  their  calves  with  much  gusto,  to  with- 
draw behind  the  ladies  they  were  to  escort.  But  these 
precautionary  measures  were  seemingly  superfluous,  as  the 
Kaiser’s  pets  showed  no  particular  desire  for  a bite  that 
afternoon.  Instead,  each  separately  squatted  down  before 
Mesdames  von  Keller  and  von  Gersdorff,  and  conducted 
himself  in  the  most  filthy  fashion,  more  basely,  indeed, 
than  a self-respecting  puppy  would  do  in  the  kitchen. 
Perfidious  Teckels ! all  the  floggings  and  nose-rubbings 
the  fancier  had  applied  for  that  very  thing  were  forgotten, 
and,  worst  of  all,  the  Kaiser,  Her  Majesty  upon  his  arm. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


51 


and,  like  her,  en  grande  tenue^  entered  at  that  very  moment ; 
so  withdrawal  on  the  part  of  Keller  and  Gersdorff  was  out 
of  the  question.  On  the  contrary,  the  unhappy  ladies  were 
obliged  to  bow  low,  bending  from  the  waist  at  an  angle  of 
forty-five  degrees,  while  the  Teckels,  much  relieved,  clam- 
bered up  His  Majesty’s  hussar  boots,  wagging  their  funny 
tails. 

‘^Oh ! you  bad  boys  ! ” cried  the  Kaiser,  having  taken 
in  the  situation  at  a glance;  ^‘if  you  do  that  again,  I will 
have  you  birched, — yes,  indeed  I will,”  he  added,  seeing 
ironic  smiles  all  around.  Then  he  had  a fit  of  laughter 
that  made  him  hold  his  sides,  and  which  resounded  through 
the  hall.  He  even  sought  to  inveigle  the  Empress  into 
joining  in  his  merriment ; but  Her  Majesty  ignored  him, 
and,  blushing  deeply,  drew  her  consort  out  of  the  room. 

The  Teckels  remained  in  the  Pillar  Hall  while  we  break- 
fasted, and  amused  themselves  by  tearing  into  little  pieces 
a beautiful  fan  which  Countess  Piickler,  nU  Countess  von 
der  Schulenburg,  who  was  one  of  the  Empress’s  dames 
before  her  marriage,  had  left  behind. 


university  of 

ILLINOIS  library 

H URBANA  CHAMPMGN 


CHAPTER  III 


Only  during  the  absence  of  their  Majesties  are  visitors 
admitted  to  the  Neues  Palais, — a rule  from  which  there  is 
absolutely  no  appeal.  Even  William  K.  Vanderbilt,  whom 
the  Emperor  personally  regards  as  the  very  richest  man  in 
the  world, — the  Kaiser  has  not  a great  head  for  figures,  as 
already  shown, — even  Vanderbilt,  I say,  was  on  one  occa- 
sion turned  away  from  our  gate  like  a beggar,  or  some 
Hungry  Joe  of  the  road.  It  happened  in  October,  1891, 
and  made  quite  a stir  in  the  palace. 

Vanderbilt,  it  appears,  had  driven  to  the  castle  over  the 
royal  highway,  and  his  coach  was  about  to  enter  one  of  the 
outer  gates,  when  the  sentinel  stationed  there,  observing 
the  lack  of  a known  and  so-called  ‘^courtly”  livery  on 
the  part  of  the  Jehu  and  footman,  stopped  the  horses  and 
demanded  a card  of  admission. 

‘^This  is  His  Majesty’s  friend,”  said  Jacques  Hartog, 
Mr.  Vanderbilt’s  courier,  with  an  air  of  magnificent  assur- 
ance, but  the  soldier  only  stared  the  harder. 

Your  pass,  Herr  ! ” repeated  the  infantryman. 

You  don’t  understand  things.  This  is  Mr.  Vanderbilt, 
the  American  millionaire  !”  Hartog  was  pleading  now. 

As  the  word  ‘‘American”  struck  the  sentinel’s  long  ears, 
he  raised  his  gun,  for  his  lieutenant  had  taught  him  that 
the  United  States  is  “one  of  those  confounded  republics,” 
totally  devoid  of  a king,  or  princes,  or  even  a respectable 
standing  army. 


53 


54 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


**Kutschery'^  he  commanded,  in  his  most  pompous  voice, 
and  apparently  unmindful  of  Hartog’s  very  existence, — 
*^Kutscher,  right  about  face,  forward  march!  March,  I 
say,  and  march,  a third  time,  or  I will  shoot  1 ’ ’ 

The  guardsman  kept  his  gun  levelled  on  the  intruders 
until  the  coach  containing  the  lord  of  twice  as  many  good, 
round  dollars  as  the  Emperor  has  subjects  vanished  behind 
a cloud  of  fine  white  dust,  and  God  knows  what  would 
have  happened  if  Hartog,  who  has  a well-established  repu- 
tation for  pugnaciousness  and  obstinacy,  had  endeavored  to 
run  the  blockade  in  order  to  please  his  rich  patron;  for 
these  sentinels  carry  sharp  cartridges,  and  if  they  shoot — 
and  they  often  do  so  on  windy  provocation — they  fire  to 
kill. 

I cannot  remember  now  whether  the  public  honoring  by 
the  Emperor  of  a sentinel,  who,  while  on  duty,  shot  down 
some  poor  wretch,  happened  previously  to  Mr.  Vander- 
bilt’s unsuccessful  attempt  to  visit  the  royal  domain,  or  not. 
In  that  case.  His  Majesty  called  the  offender  to  the  front, 
shook  him  by  the  hand,  and  assured  him  of  his  royal  grace, 
saying : “lam  proud  to  commend  you  as  an  obedient  and 
courageous  soldier;  such  devotion  as  yours  will  always 
meet  with  my  highest  approval,”  or  words  to  that  effect. 
But  I do  know  that  the  rencontre  was  earnestly  discussed  in 
the  imperial  family  and  the  castle  about  a month  later,  after 
the  Emperor  had  delivered  his  famous  speech  at  the  swear- 
ing-in of  the  Potsdam  recruits.  There  are  two  versions  of 
that  address.  The  one  which  the  majority  of  newspapers 
printed  at  the  time,  reads ; “ Children  of  my  guard,  you 
are  now  rny  soldiers, — mine,  body  and  soul  I You  have 
sworn  to  obey  all  my  commands ; you  must  follow  my  rules 
and  my  advice  without  grumbling.  It  means  that,  from 
this  day  on,  you  durst  know  but  one  enemy,  and  that  enemy 
is  my  enemy.  And  if  I command  you  some  day, — and 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


55 


may  God  grant  that  I am  never  driven  to  this  extrem- 
ity,— if  I command  you,  I repeat,  to  fire  upon  your  own 
relatives,  your  sisters  and  parents  perhaps,  remember  your 
oath!" 

That  version  is  terrible  enough ; but,  compared  with  the 
original  draft  of  the  speech,  which  I happen  to  have  seen 
on  the  Kaiser’s  secretaire;  the  words  actually  said  may  be 
almost  characterized  as  tame. 

There  it  was,  in  William’s  tall,  forcibly-rounded  hand : 

‘‘Recruits!  Remember  that  the  German  army  must  be 
as  ready  to  fight  enemies  that  may  rise  in  our  midst,  as 
foreign  foes.  To-day,  disbelief  and  malcontentedness  are 
rampant  in  the  Fatherland  to  a heretofore  unheard-of  de- 
gree ; consequently,  I may  call  upon  you  at  any  time  to 
shoot  down  and  strike  to  the  ground  {niederstechen)  your 
own  relatives, — father  and  mother,  sisters  and  brothers. 
My  orders  in  that  respect  must  be  executed  cheerfully  and 
without  grumbling,  like  any  other  command  I may  issue. 
You  must  do  your  duty,  no  matter  what  your  hearts’  dic- 
tates are.  And  now  go  home  and  attend  to  your  new 
duties." 

I came  upon  this  document  quite  accidentally,  the  Em- 
press having  ordered  me  to  fetch  from  the  desk  in  the 
Kaiser’s  study  the  calendar  whereon  His  Majesty’s  engage- 
ments in  and  out  of  town  are  registered, — if  I am  not  mis- 
taken, my  august  mistress  desired  to  know  the  date  of  the 
Torgau  jubilee  (November  25), — and  the  precious  com- 
position was  written  on  blank  spaces  between  the  dates  I 
had  to  examine.  “Monstrous!  ’’  I thought,  reading  over 
for  the  second  time  what  William  had  the  folly  to  indite 
and  not  wit  enough  to  keep  to  himself;  my  heart  trem- 
bled with  anxiety  for  both  country  and  Emperor.  And 
to  think  that  he  memorized  this  murderous  self-apotheosis 
within  earshot  of  his  wife,  and  with  his  innocent  babies 


56 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


sleeping  above  ! And  I — involuntary  keeper  of  a state 
secret ! 

It  troubled  me  a good  deal  during  the  night,  but  next 
morning’s  news  quickly  took  the  load  off  my  shoulders,  for 
Her  Majesty  remarked  that  the  Kaiser  w'as  much  pleased 
with  the  impression  his  speech  had  produced, — that  of  strik- 
ing terror  into  the  hearts  of  Socialists  and  others  opposed 
to  the  imperial  will. 

‘‘But  does  not  Your  Majesty  fear  misinterpretation  on 
the  part  of  the  overzealous ? ” I asked;  “the  papers  are 
filled  with  reports  about  brutalities  in  the  army,  and  about 
the  overbearing  conduct  of  the  military  at  all  times.  At 
the  unveiling  of  the  Schloss  Fountain  in  Berlin,  I even 
heard  a rumor  that  Vanderbilt  came  near  being  shot  while 
driving  toward  the  Neues  Palais.’’ 

That  was  a lighted  match  into  a powder-barrel!  Her 
Majesty  caused  inquiries  to  be  made  at  once,  and  mean- 
while got  all  her  ladies  together  to  discuss  the  exigencies 
of  the  case.  Of  course,  in  their  opinion,  it  would  not 
matter  much  if  an  ordinary  mortal  is  killed  by  a sentinel ; 
but  the  richest  man  in  the  world  I — that  was  another  thing. 
Would,  in  such  a contingency,  the  United  States  declare 
war  against  Germany? 

The  Countesses  Bassewitz  and  Brockdorff  wished  it 
would,  for  they  have  relatives  in  the  navy;  but  when  I 
suggested  that  the  Yankees  might  prefer  to  take  it  out  of 
German  commerce.  Her  Majesty  became  thoughtful. 

“I  have  heard  the  Kaiser  remark  that  Vanderbilt  could 
cripple  the  finances  of  the  entire  universe,”  she  said;  “if 
that  sentinel  had  shot  him,  his  brothers  and  heirs  might 
drive  our  good  Miquel  to  suicide.” 

While  we  were  talking,  KammerdUner  Nolte  arrived  with 
the  information  of  the  Vanderbilt  incident  mentioned  in 
the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  and  additional  news  that 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


57 


Court-marshal  von  Mirbach,  had  especially  advised  the 
millionaire  that  it  was  impossible  to  view  the  palace  at  the 
time,  owing  to  the  presence  of  the  Empress. 

Revenons  d nos  moutons  after  this  excursion  into  the 
realms  of  state  secrets  and  troubled  finance.  The  Neues 
Palais,  I tried  to  explain,  is  but  rarely  open  to  the  public, 
and  those  fifty-eight  rooms,  of  a total  of  two  hundred,  in- 
habited by  their  Majesties,  are,  as  a matter  of  course,  closed 
against  intruders  at  all  times.  If,  however,  the  ordinary 
run  of  visitors  were  permitted  to  view  the  private  apart- 
ments of  the  imperial  couple,  they  would  quickly  come  to 
the  conclusion  that,  like  a good  paterfamilias^  the  Kaiser 
allows  his  wdfe  to  keep  for  herself  all  bibelots  and  curios, 
magnificent  Boules  and  quaint  rococos,  which  past  genera- 
tions of  royal  Hohenzollerns  have  hoarded  up,  and  likewise 
the  most  beautiful  pieces  of  furniture  and  treasures  of  art 
newly  acquired  with  the  first  William’s  amassed  fortune. 

The  Kaiser’s  up-stairs  study  is  a large,  lofty  room,  and, 
being  the  rostrum  from  which  the  Empire  and  the  whole 
world  in  general  are  addressed  (who  knows  not  the  date 
line:  “Given  at  the  Neues  Palais”?),  I may  be  pardoned 
for  describing  it  in  detail.  The  walls  of  this  historic  cham- 
ber are  hung  with  light-green  damask,  faded  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  make  the  stuff  look  shabby  in  spots,  and  the 
furniture  is  upholstered  in  the  same  material.  Tulle  cur- 
tains, through  the  open-work  of  which  green  ribbons  run, 
frame  the  windows,  two  in  number,  while  the  silk  overcur- 
tains are  drawn  back  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time.  Near 
the  door  leading  into  the  reception-room  rises  one  of  those 
immense  black  marble  mantels  that  we  encounter  every- 
where in  the  castle, — a fact  furthering  the  suspicion  that  the 
builder,  economically-inclined  Frederick  II,  ordered  them 
by  the  gross  at  a discount.  There  is  a small  bronze  clock 
on  the  mantel  between  two  candelabra,  just  as  if  this 


58 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


was  the  parlor  of  Herr  Rechtsanwalt  Schmidt,  or  Frau 
Schlachtermeister  Schultze,  and  near  the  fire-place  is  the 
Emperor’s  writing-table,  a big,  clumsy  walnut  affair  with 
machine-turned  feet,  and  trimmings  such  as  may  be  found 
in  any  well-regulated  household  in  Germany.  The  Ber- 
liner calls  this  77ionstrum  of  stilted  inelegancy  “Diplomat’s 
Desk,  ’ ’ for  what  special  reason  I do  not  know.  When  the 
Kaiser  sits  at  his  secretaire^  he  has  his  back  toward  the 
windows,  while  to  the  right  of  him  mighty  folding-doors 
lead  into  a dressing-room,  which  latter  connects  with  their 
Majesties’  joint  sleeping  apartment. 

The  hangings  of  the  lower  wall  opposite  the  mantel  are 
hidden  behind  two  immense  Boule  chests  of  drawers  with 
gray  marble  tops,  specimens  of  the  original  Charles  Boule’ s 
handiwork,  according  to  the  register  in  the  Court -marshal’s 
office.  They  have  a veneer  of  tortoise-shell  backed  by 
gold  bronze,  and  the  wood  is  as  hard  as  iron.  One  of 
these  chests  the  Kaiser  turned  into  a sort-  of  pigeon-hole 
for  his  official  correspondence. 

The  tops  of  these  beautifully-modelled  antiques,  as  well 
as  that  of  the  ugly  Berlin-made  desk,  are  literally  covered 
with  marine  views,  charcoal  sketches,  and  photographs  of 
beautiful  women,  framed  and  unframed.  As  is  well  known, 
both  their  Majesties  have  a passion  for  photography,  which 
William  was  wont  to  call  “a  royal  art”  until  he  heard 
that  the  late  Duke  of  Marlborough,  “who  married  a 
daughter  of  the  republic  for  her  money,”  practised  it;  but 
while  Her  Majesty  collects  photographs  indiscriminately, 
the  Kaiser  shows  a decided  partiality  for  those  of  charming 
women.  True,  he  honors  men  in  the  service  of  the  Court 
or  government,  or  of  social  renown,  quite  frequently  by 
requests  for  pictures ; but  on  receiving  them  he  invariably 
shuts  them  away  where  the  flies  cannot  get  at  them,  while 
portraits  of  handsome  princesses  and  other  fair  ones  who 


THE  DUCHESS  L 

This  portrait  of  the  famous  French-Italian  Beauty  is  always  found  on  the  Kaiser’s  desk, 
the  original,  however,  is  a full  length  picture 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


59 


made  an  impression  upon  the  imperial  mind  are  every- 
where in  William’s  rooms, — figures  large  and  small,  in  all 
sorts  of  costumes,  or  even  distinguished  by  an  absence 
of  such;  plain  pictures,  silver  prints,  in  colors  or  painted 
over;  personal  gifts,  inscribed  with  sweet  sentiments,  or 
the  output  of  art  stores. 

Among  the  likenesses  regularly  found  on  the  Emperor’s 
writing-table,  no  matter  whether  he  is  at  home  or  in  his 
private  car,  or  visiting  with  relatives  and  friends,  is  one  of 
the  Duchess  of  Aosta,  nee  Letitia  Bonaparte,  remarkable  for 
the  fact  that  Her  Imperial  Highness’s  overflowing  bust  is 
uncovered  except  for  a collier  of  pear-shaped  pearls.  For 
this  portrait  the  Kaiser  professes  a special  liking,  because, 
he  says,  it  reminds  him  of  a certain  masterpiece  repre- 
senting Letitia’ s great-grandaunt,  the  Empress  Josephine. 
‘‘Don’t  you  think  it  does?”  he  once,  after  a lengthy  dis- 
sertation on  the  point,  asked  his  wife,  who  cordially  detests 
her  cousin  of  Aosta. 

“Maybe,”  answered  Her  Majesty;  “but  Josephine  might 
have  exposed  herself  with  impunity,  for,  I understand,  she 
had  breasts  of  wax.” 

Another  picture  of  the  Duchess,  usually  found  on  the 
Emperor’s  desk,  is  on  more  conventional  lines,  but,  like 
the  first,  it  exhibits  Letitia’s  magnificent  arms  and  fine 
hands  to  perfection.  The  significance  of  this  will  be  shown 
in  another  chapter,  where  the  Kaiser’s  relations  to  the  fair 
sex  are  discussed. 

Other  picture  favorites  of  His  Majesty  are  the  Grand 
Duchess  Vladimir,  Lady  Dudley,  that  “little  Marie  of 
Edinburgh,”  whom  William  admires  so  much  on  account 
of  her  motherly  labors  in  the  interest  of  a Roumanian  dy- 
nasty; the  Princess  of  Wales  in  Court  dress,  her  finely- 
chiselled  shoulders  laden  with  jewels;  and  Fraulein  von 
Bdcklin,  daughter  of  the  Prussian  General. 


6o 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


This  young  lady  figures  occasionally  in  living  pictures, 
arranged  by  members  of  the  Court  society  for  charity  pur- 
poses, and,  with  her  rich  Titian  hair,  big  blue  eyes,  and 
chaste  figure,  is,  perhaps,  the  most  beautiful  German  girl 
of  the  period.  The  Kaiser  likes  her  best  in  antique  Greek 
costume,  and  Fraulein  von  Bocklin  is  under  orders  to  send 
to  His  Majesty  a specimen  copy  of  every  photograph  she 
has  taken. 

I have  almost  forgotten  to  include  in  the  above  list  the 
beautiful  Countess  Goertz,  of  whom  more  anon. 

In  front  of  a sofa  with  metal  feet  and  frame  stands  a 
marqueterie  table  of  many-colored  woods  inlaid,  and  of 
very  unique  Holland  design,  which,  needless  to  say,  is  an 
inheritance  from  the  great  Frederick,  who  seems  to  have 
been  the  only  Prussian  King  endowed  with  a sense  of  the 
truly  beautiful. 

To  complete  the  inventory  of  the  room,  which  is  far  from 
luxurious,  or  even  cosy,  it  is  but  necessary  to  mention  three 
or  four  fauUuils,  a big  pier-glass  with  a marble  console  be- 
tween the  windows,  a crystal  chandelier  hanging  from  the 
gilded  ceiling,  and  a lounge  with  a profusion  of  loose  cush- 
ions. The  lounge,  by  the  way,  is  worthy  of  kings  ^‘that 
have  no  use  for  dressing-gowns,”  as  the  Court-marshal  of 
William  I once  wrote  to  an  enterprising  tailor  who  had  pre- 
sented His  late  Majesty  with  an  elaborate  morning-wrapper. 
It  is  far  too  narrow  and  short  to  accommodate  even  so 
small  a man  as  the  Kaiser,  and  recalls  the  benches  in  the 
Sans  Souci  picture-gallery,  which  were  built  with  the  idea 
of  producing  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  discomfort,  so 
that  the  King’s  pages  occupying  them  might  not  fall  asleep. 

A richly-gilded  folding-door  connects  the  study  with  a 
reception-room,  which  latter  is  chiefly  notable  for  the  air 
of  inoccupancy  pervading  every  nook  and  corner  of  the 
great  barn-like  apartment.  As  a matter  of  fact,  the  Kaiser 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


6i 


uses  it  merely  for  a passage-way  to  the  adjoining  Marble 
Hall,  where  presents  and  newly-bought  stuffs  for  decora- 
tion, pictures  or  furniture,  are  placed  on  exhibition  until 
their  Majesties  decide  where  they  shall  go,  while  visitors 
and  friends  are  usually  received  in  the  lecture-room  on  the 
ground-floor,  so  called  because  there  ministers  of  state  and 
others  deliver  verbal  reports,  or  take  orders  on  current 
business,  and  listen  to  His  Majesty’s  sublime  conceptions 
of  things. 

The  upper  room  is  sparsely  furnished  with  arm-chairs 
and  sofas,  perhaps  a hundred  years  old,  but  none  the  more 
valuable  on  that  account;  for  neither  the  multicolored 
pattern  of  the  damask  covering  nor  the  carved  frames  ex- 
hibit refined  taste  or  originality.  As  in  most  rooms  of  the 
castle,  the  wall  and  window  hangings  are  of  the  color  of 
the  furniture,  and  the  chandelier  and  mantel  like  those  in 
the  study. 

How  well  I remember  this  now  neglected  room  when 
not  so  many  years  ago,  during  the  life-time  of  the  then 
Crown  Prince,  I was  a guest  at  the  palace.  That  happy 
royal  couple,  Frederick  William  and  Victoria,  used  it  as  an 
antechamber  to  the  Marble  Hall,  and  in  those  days  the  walls 
were  draped  with  the  grand  tapestries  that  Napoleon  had  pre- 
sented to  the  Crown  Princess.  That  before  her  withdrawal 
from  the  castle  Empress  Frederick  removed  the  gobelins 
and  shipped  them  to  her  palace  Unter  den  Linden,  is  but 
one  of  the  many  reasons  why  the  son  does  not  like  his 
thrifty  mother.  Indeed,  history  repeats  itself  constantly  in 
the  highest  as  well  as  the  lowest  strata  of  society.  The 
Smith  and  Brown  families  are  “all  torn  up,”  because,  at 
the  apportioning  of  the  estates.  Aunt  Sarah  or  Cousin 
John  grabbed  an  old  clock  or  silver  teapot  which  Uncle 
Charles  had  coveted.  The  young  Kaiser  admires  tapes- 
try, if  he  need  not  buy  it  himself,  and  thought  his  mother 


62 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


might  leave  the  French  Emperor’s  gift  where  it  showed  to 
great  advantage.  Very  naturally,  Victoria  held  a different 
view,  and,  presto  ! animosities  scarce  buried  raised  their 
heads  again.  If  Her  Majesty  had  not  been  so  quick  about 
it,  William  might  have  enforced  against  his  own  mother 
the  law  providing  that  articles  of  decoration  attached  to 
the  walls  cannot  be  taken  away  by  tenants. 

We  now  retrace  our  steps  to  the  study,  and  from  there 
enter  the  Kaiser’s  dressing-room,  treading  all  the  while 
on  the  thickest  and  heaviest  of  carpets,  irrespective  of 
the  season  of  the  year,  for  the  Kaiser  detests  the  pro- 
verbially slippery  parquet  of  the  Court,  though,  according 
to  a saying  in  vogue  in  Berlin,  such  a state  of  mind  be- 
speaks an  inherent  inability  to  maintain  one’s  equilibrium 
in  most  things.  William,  you  must  know,  is  never  quite 
sure  of  his  legs,  the  left  one,  as  stated,  being  liable  to  give 
way  at  any  time  when  His  Majesty’s  mind  is  not  concen- 
trated upon  posing  physically  as  well  as  mentally.  There 
are,  besides,  even  with  a character  so  continuously  on  the 
alert  as  William  II,  hours  in  the  day  when  he  likes  to 
unbend  and  throw  off  that  dignity  of  demeanor  for  which 
his  public  and  semi-public  appearance  is  noted;  when  he 
becomes  a plain  aristocrat  like  the  one  whom  he  takes  for 
pattern  in  all  things,  who  became  plain  Fritz  ” or  Pan- 
tagruel  ’ ’ after  midnight,  when  the  friends  of  his  Muse  were 
expected  to  help  the  conqueror-king  to  forget  the  weight  of 
greatness  for  a couple  of  hours. 

Though  personally  I could  no  more  imagine  the  Kaiser 
associating  with  a lot  of  cynics  and  mountebanks,  such  as 
Frederick  kept  to  while  away  hours  of  leisure,  than  I would 
expect  him  to  attend  a state  ceremony  in  undress,  or  with 
his  mustachios  drooping,  I can  assure  you,  that,  in  the  seclu- 
sion of  his  chamber,  he  is  a very  different  man  from  the 
one  that  even  the  members  of  his  titled  household  know. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


63 


That  he  ordered  his  own  living  rooms  carpeted  through- 
out is  against  all  tradition  at  the  Berlin  Court ; but  as  no- 
body, who  is  anybody,  invades  his  sanctum,  why  should  he 
trouble?  The  small  soirees,  musicales,  and  receptions  are 
invariably  held  in  the  Empress’s  apartments,  or  the  semi- 
state-rooms of  the  parterre  floor.  On  these  occasions  the 
Kaiser  considers  himself  the  chief  guest ; he  is  the  cynosure 
of  all  eyes,  the  pole-star  that  social  and  political  naviga- 
tors must  forever  consult  to  avoid  wreck ; there  the  drill- 
ground  echo:  ‘^Attention!”  perpetually  dins  in  his  ears: 
‘‘Attention  to  your  arm,”  “Attention,  Your  Majesty,  your 
leg  is  giving  way.  ’ ’ 

The  strain  must  be  awful ; and  I am  sure,  when  the  Kaiser 
in  his  speeches  continuously  refers  to  the  labors  of  his 
position,  he  thinks  of  this  martyrdom  inflicted  by  his 
physical  shortcomings,  rather  than  of  the  many  hundred 
miles  he  puts  between  himself  and  respectable  ennui  at  his 
fireside,  though  wishing  the  public  at  all  times  to  think  he 
is  fairly  killing  himself  so  that  “ every  peasant  in  the  king- 
dom shall  have  a fowl  in  his  pot  on  Sundays.  ’ ’ 

A fully-carpeted  floor  is  a guarantee  against  sudden 
tumbles,  in  one  respect  at  least,  and  if  one  has  to  fall,  a 
heavy  velvet  pile  seems  much  preferable  to  a hardwood 
veneer,  be  it  ever  so  highly  polished. 

The  Kaiser’s  dressing-room  is  situated  directly  above  Em- 
peror Frederick’s  death-chamber,  which  latter  now  serves 
as  a sort  of  corridor,  from  necessity  rather  than  irreverence, 
I should  add,  for,  when  the  Neues  Palais  was  built,  passage- 
ways leading  to  its  great  chambers  were  forgotten  for  the 
most  part,  as  King  Frederick  quarrelled  with  the  architect 
and  finished  the  castle  according  to  his  own  unprofessional 
notions.  The  hangings,  furniture-coverings,  and  carpets  are 
like  those  of  the  study,  green  or  red  respectively,  and  here, 
too,  the  damask  is  much  the  worse  for  wear  in  many  places. 


64 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


As  the  windows  of  the  chamber  overlook  the  barracks 
of  the  Lehr  und  Wehr  Battalion,  His  Majesty,  by  simply 
putting  his  head  out  of  the  window,  could  alarm  the  garri- 
son at  any  hour  of  the  night  or  day ; but,  strange  to  say, 
this  fancy  never  struck  him,  though  he  often  travels  half 
the  night  to  chase  some  poor  regiment  in  a wayside  town 
or  fortress  out  of  Morpheus’s  and  God  knows  whose  arms 
at  unearthly  hours. 

In  a small  alcove  opposite  the  windows  stands  a single 
brass  bedstead  with  spring  and  horse-hair  mattresses,  whose 
English  arrangement  of  sheets,  blankets,  and  chamois 
cushions  gives  the  servants  perpetual  cause  for  grumblings. 
To  the  left  of  the  alcove  is  the  door  leading  into  their 
Majesties’  joint  bedroom,  while  on  the  other  side  a large 
closet,  built  in  the  wall,  contains  the  Kaiser’s  body-linen, 
not  much  of  it.  All  the  historical  half-dozen  shirts  a 
Prussian  monarch  or  prince  is  entitled  to  are  there,  but, 
horribile  dictUy  the  article  is  innocent  of  cuffs,  a commodity 
William  attaches  with  the  aid  of  buttons  and  pulleys,  like 
any  poor  lieutenant,  who  looks  upon  men  sporting  an 
English-made  dress-shirt  as  veritable  plungers.  Of  socks, 
never  above  a dozen  pairs  are  in  use,  half-yellow,  half- 
brown, and,  like  the  underwear,  of  lisle ; but  the  Hozen- 
zollern  house  laws  evidently  impose  no  restriction  as  to 
handkerchiefs,  which  seem  to  come  grosswise,  all,  like  the 
shirts,  drawers,  and  socks,  inscribed  with  and  the 

royal  crown. 

While  the  modern  articles  of  furniture  heretofore  men- 
tioned are  of  the  most  ordinary  description, — store-goods, 
and  not  the  most  expensive,  either, — His  Majesty’s  wash- 
stand  is  of  truly  royal  dimensions  and  elaborateness, 
occupying  the  best  part  of  the  rear  wall  at  the  side  of 
the  mantel.  It  is  made  of  lightwood,  with  an  imposing 
marble  top,  and  ditto  shelves,  decorated  with  handsome 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


65 


crystals  and  silver  things,  carafes,  brushes,  jugs,  etc. 
Was  ever  King  of  Prussia,  or  a Holy  Roman  Emperor  of 
German  nationality,  so  well  fixed  in  respect  to  toilet  requi- 
sites? And  would  William  be  that  wonder  of  neatness  to 
all  the  people  in  his  employ,  if  it  were  not  for  his  Eng- 
lish mother?  Such  questions  are  constantly  agitated  in 
the  palace  among  the  servants  as  well  as  the  officials,  for 
the  laundresses,  and  especially  the  maids  who  attend  to  the 
royal  chamber,  carrying  up  three  flights  of  stairs  the  oceans 
of  hot  and  cold  water  His  Majesty  requires  continuously 
during  the  day  till  late  at  night,  regard  William’s  passion 
for  cleanliness  as  little  short  of  crime,  and  the  Court-mar- 
shal has  his  hands  full  pacifying  the  overworked  and  dis- 
charging the  sulky,  particularly  those  dragging  the  Empress 
Frederick’s  name  into  the  discussion. 

“I  should  think  myself  in  heaven,”  said  my  mistress 
some  time  ago  after  reading  a magazine  article  to  the 
effect  that  even  the  bedrooms  of  moderately-priced  Amer- 
ican apartment  houses  are  provided  with  running  water, 
hot  and  cold, — I should  think  myself  in  heaven  if  such 
were  arranged  for  my  husband’s  and  my  use,  not  to  men- 
tion the  children’s,  and  I am  the  Kaiserin,” — a Kaiserin, 
she  might  have  added,  whose  revenues  are  sequestrated  to 
ostentation.  Still,  we  must  not  be  thought  to  be  unpro- 
gressive at  the  Prussian  Court.  Compare  Voltaire’s  wash- 
bowl in  the  Monkey  and  Parrot  Room  of  Sans  Souci  with 
the  corresponding  commodity  on  the  Kaiser’s  table:  a 
finger-bowl  to  an  English  sitz-bath,  and  yet  scarce  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  years  have  passed  since  the  French 
poet’s  arrest  in  Frankfurt. 

There  are  basketfuls  of  sponges,  and  skin-brushes  by 
the  score,  on  the  marble  shelves,  but  not  a sign  of  toilet 

waters  or  colognes, ’s  soap  serving  all  needed  purposes 

for  the  bath  as  well  as  occasional  ablutions  and  shaving. 


66 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


And,  with  the  persistency  that  is  William’s  chief  charac- 
teristic, he  not  only  uses  the  article  himself,  but  insists 
on  its  presence  on  the  toilet-stand  of  every  member  of  his 
household,  being  like  his  royal  brother  of  Spain,  Philip  II, 
disposed  to  dictate  the  minor  affairs  of  his  people  as  well 
as  direct  the  graver  ones  of  the  Empire.  The  latter  laid 
awake  nights  devising  new  fashions  in  men’s  frills  and 
women’s  petticoats;  our  erratic  contemporary,  forgetting 
the  oft-quoted  mandate  of  a great  ancestor, — that  in  Prussia 
people  shall  go  to  heaven  in  their  own  way, — wants  every- 
body to  approach  godliness  after  the  fashion  adopted  by 
himself. 

There  have  been  frequent  rubs  at  Court  about  that  very 
thing  (invalids  of  the  cuticle  object  to  be  reminded  of  the 
doctor  on  all  occasions ; and  who  would  blame  them  ?) ; 
but  all  parties  agree  that  in  this  particular  instance  ‘‘des- 
potism does  not  tread  upon  the  worm  with  haughty  playful- 
ness,” and  without  substantial  reason  at  the  same  time,  for 
the  Kaiser,  you  must  know,  credits  his  clear  complexion 
and  the  possession  of  a remarkable  white  and  smooth  skin 
to  the  fact  that  he  has  used  soap  of  a particular  brand 
since  earliest  childhood.  And,  considering  the  several 
constitutional  ailments  he  is  subject  to,  this  simple  means 
has  indeed  done  wonders,  for,  though  William  is  usually 
pale,  his  skin  is  ever  clear  and  wholesome,  like  that  of  an 
eminently  healthy  person. 

To  the  luxurious  toilet  His  Majesty’s  bath  furnishes  a 
formidable  contrast,  being  an  ordinary  zinc  tub,  painted. 
But  the  most  astonishing  thing  about  it  is  its  peculiar  situa- 
tion. Let  those  who  consider  themselves  Fortune’s  grace- 
less children  because  their  neighbor’s  house  or  carriage  or 
wife  or  diamonds  are  their  neighbor’s,  take  courage  in  the 
thought  that  Germany’s  Kaiser,  twice  a King,  as  many 
times  a Grand  Duke,  eighteen  times  a Duke,  three  times  a 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


67 


Margrave,  once  a Burgrave, — whatever  that  means  nowa- 
days,— twice  a Prince,  nine  times  a Count,  and  fifteen 
times  a Seigneur,  besides  being  a Bishop,  bathes  behind  a 
curtain  in  a stuffy  corridor,  the  connecting-link  between 
his  dressing-gown  and  the  conjugal  bed-chamber.  That 
this  statement  almost  challenges  belief,  I am  not  the  last  to 
appreciate,  but  can  only  reiterate  its  truth.  And,  when 
you  come  to  think  it  over,  is  it  more  startling  than  the 
story  relating  to  King  Leopold’s  bath  in  the  Potsdam  Stadt 
Schloss  ? 

Court-marshal  Liebenau  was  all  in  a flutter  when,  in 
August,  1890,  His  Belgian  Majesty  came  to  return  the 
Kaiser’s  visit  to  Ostend,  for  his  colleague  of  Brussels  had 
informed  him  that  the  sovereign  gentleman  was  addicted 
to  the  daily  bathing  habit,  and  demanded  a hot  bath  at 
that.  There  was,  at  that  time,  only  one  royal  palace 
available  in  town  (the  Kaiserin  objected  to  entertaining 
Leopold  at  her  own  house),  and  this,  the  Stadt  Schloss, 
contained  but  a single  bath-room,  which,  to  further  com- 
plicate matters,  is  attached  to  the  bridal  suite  where  Prus- 
sian princesses  pass  their  first  night  of  matrimonial  bliss. 
To  lodge  the  old  debauchee  in  that  sacred  apartment, 
which  only  once  before  had  been  defiled  by  a man  who 
was  not  a groom  at  the  time  of  occupancy,  by  Napoleon  I, 
was  out  of  the  question,  and  if  a cabinet  was  fitted  up  with 
the  regulation  German  bath-tub  and  stove,  the  King  would 
certainly  poke  fun  at  the  antediluvian  arrangement. 

What,  then,  could  be  done  ? 

At  last  Liebenau  hit  upon  a plan.  He  set  up  a modern 
enough  bath  that  was  fed  by  a cold-water  faucet,  and  placed 
under  one  end  of  it  a row  of  gas-jets  intended  to  heat  the 
water  in  the  tub.  Should  His  Majesty  find  the  bath  too 
warm,  calculated  the  official,  with  true  native  acumen,  he 
can  moderate  the  heat  by  turning  on  the  cold  reservoir. 


68 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


Now,  Leopold  had  enjoyed  the  previous  night’s  festivities 
very  much,  and  observing,  in  the  morning,  that  his  slightest 
wishes  in  regard  to  bodily  comfort  had  been  anticipated,  he 
rose  in  right  good  humor.  Stepping  buoyantly  into  his  bath 
at  the  cool  end,  and  turning  round,  he  sat  himself  down  at 
the  other,  which,  the  gas  having  just  been  turned  off,  was 
nothing  short  of  a furnace  with  the  red-hot  coals  removed. 

At  the  same  moment  an  unearthly  yell  rent  the  castle 
from  Marble  Hall  to  scullery ; the  sentinels,  marching  up 
and  down  before  the  great  gate,  called  out  the  guard,  and 
dozens  of  officials  and  servants  ran  to  the  King’s  suite  of 
apartments,  thinking  that  His  Majesty  had  been  attacked. 
At  last,  the  cries  not  ceasing,  Herr  von  Liebenau,  together 
with  the  housekeeper  and  the  King’s  adjutant,  took  courage 
and  burst  into  the  bath-room,  where  they  found  His  Majesty 
dancing  an  impromptu  Highland  fling,  and  war-whooping 
alternately  in  French  and  German  for  liniments  and  cold- 
cream.  What  he  said  to  the  Court-marshal  became  known 
only  after  the  latter’s  dismissal  and  disgrace,  for  the  ser- 
vants who  heard  His  Belgian  Majesty  read  him  the  index 
of  Brehm’s  Animal  World”  never  dared  repeat  the  all- 
highest’ s observations  during  Liebenau’s  official  life. 

As  a further  consequence  of  the  incident,  it  might  be 
recorded  that  King  Leopold  did  not  ride  to  the  parade 
held  in  his  honor  that  morning,  but  viewed  the  ceremonies 
from  his  window. 

If  business  or  pleasure  prevents  the  Kaiser  from  taking 
his  dip  in  the  morning,  he  either  bathes  in  the  afternoon, 
or  before  or  after  supper ; the  stove  must  be  lit  at  all  times, 
day  and  night,  and  a tablet  of  soap  is  consumed  on  each  of 
these  occasions.  After  stepping  out,  the  Kaiser  applies  to 
his  body  several  gallons  of  cold  water,  in  which  sea-salt  has 
been  dissolved,  baling  it  rather  laboriously  from  a vessel 
near  at  hand. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  69 

Besides  a barber’s  chair,  several  fauteuils^  and  the  fur- 
nishings already  described,  the  dressing-room  contains  little 
worth  mentioning,  except  a rare  photograph  representing 
Her  Majesty  in  a travelling-wrap ; this  was  taken  in  Venice 
in  1890,  after  the  imperial  couple’s  return  from  the  Orient, 
and  has  never  been  published;  but  although  it  does  not 
flatter  the  Kaiserin,  none  of  her  good-looking  pictures  are 
visible,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  all  tables,  consoles,  and 
chests  of  drawers  bear  witness  to  the  Kaiser’s  vain  passion 
for  seeing  himself  pictured,  all  being  literally  covered  with 
photos  showing  His  Majesty  in  every  variety  of  costume, — 
at  the  manoeuvres,  on  the  parade-field,  hunting,  sailing,  or 
making  his  entry  into  some  town  or  village  amid  the  loyal 
shouts  of  the  populace. 

A prince  like  the  Kaiser,  who  owns  a set  of  uniforms 
for  each  of  the  three  hundred  and  odd  Prussian  regiments, 
horse,  foot,  and  artillery,  besides  the  ones  appurtenant  to 
the  Bavarian,  Wiirtemburg,  and  Saxony  contingents,  not 
to  mention  the  Austrian,  English,  Russian,  Roumanian, 
Spanish,  Turkish,  and  Swedish  armies  that  enrolled  his 
name  as  colonel,  general,  or  field-marshal, — the  proprietor 
of  such  an  official  wardrobe  needs,  of  course,  most  exten- 
sive store-rooms  for  his  multicolored,  tasselled,  and  gold- 
laced  treasures,  and  that  they  are  magnificently  cared  for 
goes  without  saying. 

Space  forbids  minute  description  of  the  interesting  col- 
lection, which,  moreover,  can  never  be  complete,  as  the 
European  military  Minotaur,  feeding  on  seven  millions  of 
men  annually, — the  original  in  the  Cretan  labyrinth  was 
satisfied  with  seven  youths  and  an  equal  number  of  vir- 
gins,— keeps  on  expanding ; in  other  words,  as  new  types 
of  uniforms  and  arms  are  constantly  invented  and  added. 

And  when  I say  that  the  Emperor  owns  uniforms  of  all 
Prussian  and  almost  an  equal  number  of  foreign  regiments, 


70 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


not  forgetting,  by  the  way,  that  he  is  lord  of  the  sea  in 
Germany,  Great  Britain,  Russia,  and  Sweden, — dignities 
that  carry  with  them  cocked  hats,  broadswords  and  dag- 
gers, blue  cloth,  and  silver  and  gold  lace  galore, — I do  not 
refer  to  the  garments  alone,  but  include  all  the  ornaments, 
badges,  sashes,  side-arms,  caps,  helmets,  czakos,  busbies, 
czapkas,  burganets,  sabres,  cuirasses,  shoulder-points,  knots 
and  epaulettes,  silver  cords,  belts,  cartridge-cases,  laces,  etc., 
belonging  to  gala,  full,  and  semi  accoutrements. 

All  these  innumerable  and  expensive  accessories — a single 
pair  of  shoulder-knots  often  costs  more  than  the  uniform 
itself — must  be  on  hand  and  ready  for  use  at  any  given 
time,  as  bright  and  as  good  as  new.  Do  you  begin  to 
understand  why  the  Emperor  is  forever  unable  to  make 
both  ends  meet  with  an  income  of  sixteen  million  marks  per 
year?  How  times  have  changed  with  these  Prussian  kings! 

The  great  Frederick’s  entire  wardrobe  was  “sold  to  a 
Jew  for  three  hundred  Thalers,”  and  among  the  lot  were 
the  identical  coat,  breeches,  and  boots  he  wore  at  Ross- 
bach.  When,  to  come  down  to  our  own  period,  the  late 
William  I desired  to  be  photographed  in  the  uniform  of  the 
Garde  du  Corps ^ one  of  his  officers  had  to  lend  him  a cui- 
rass, His  Majesty  refusing  to  go  to  the  expense  of  buying 
one.  And  these  monarchs  won  more  battles  than  the 
present  Kaiser  earned,  or  even  offered,  racing-cups. 

As  Lafayette  raised  a frigate  and  crew  at  his  own  expense 
to  assist  the  young  American  republic,  so  could  William 
equip  the  marines  of  a first-class  battle-ship,  or  the  officers 
of  ten  army  corps,  from  his  wardrobe  without  being  re- 
duced to  nakedness.  He  owns,  besides  those  alluded  to, 
scores  of  costumes  adapted  to  various  sports,  numberless 
uniforms  of  yacht  clubs  in  Germany  and  England,  and 
last,  but  not  least,  an  astounding  array  of  plain  clothes, 
with  accompaniments  of  hats,  gloves,  ties,  canes,  shoes. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


71 


buttons,  and  scarfpins,  which  for  each  suit  are  especially- 
selected,  forming  part  of  the  garment,  as  it  were  ; but  this 
overabundance  of  things  is  far  from  embarrassing  the  young 
megalomaniac,  who,  quite  to  the  contrary,  enriched  the 
olla-podrida  of  this  rainbow  hecatomb  of  organized  vanity, 
tinselled  in  spots  and  real  in  others,  where  the  lion’s  skin 
edges  the  fox’s  and  the  hare’s,  by  a new  and  original  effort, 
called  “hunt  uniform,”  hideous  in  cut  and  color,  and  which 
is  occasionally  bestowed  by  royal  warrant  upon  some  much- 
envied  nobleman  as  a mark  of  special  favor. 

To  sum  up,  I will  mention  that  the  Emperor’s  foreign 
uniforms  alone  occupied,  in  1895,  two  immense  rooms; 
perhaps  an  approximate  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  clothes 
in  stock  can  be  gathered  therefrom.  In  the  Neues  Palais, 
only  regimentals  in  constant  demand  are  kept,  and  these 
fill  an  imposing  hall,  separated  from  the  dressing-room  by 
folding-doors. 

A Kammerd^ener  is  in  constant  attendance  there  from 
early  morning  till  night,  so  that  the  Kaiser  is  able  to  change 
his  uniforms  with  the  same  celerity  as  his  mind. 


CHAPTER  IV 


One  day,  in  the  winter  of  1892,  when  the  Court  was 
established  in  Berlin,  I undertook  to  present  to  Her 
Majesty  ‘Hhe  all-submissive”  compliments  of  the  Count- 
ess Brockdorff,  asking  leave  to  be  excused  from  second 
breakfast. 

^‘Tell  Her  Excellency  that  she  has  my  permission,  and 
with  pleasure,  and  that  nothing  would  suit  me  better  than 
to  have  her  and  the  whole  lot  of  them  stay  away  from 
my  table  all  the  year  round,”  said  Auguste  Victoria,  with  a 
haughty  shrug  of  the  shoulders. 

Being  one  of  the  ‘Hot,”  I was  surprised  and  vexed  at 
this  outburst.  “If  that  remark  was  intended  seriously,  I 
beg  to  offer  my  resignation,”  I said,  “and  I am  sure  the 
Countess  and  other  associates  and  all  functionaries  will 
follow  suit,  seeing  that,  for  some  unknown  reason,  we  have 
had  the  misfortune  to  incur  your  Imperial  Majesty’s  dis- 
pleasure. ’ ’ 

“No,  no ! ” cried  the  Kaiserin ; “I  am  very  fond  of  you, 
and  there  is  not  one  in  the  suite  whom  I dislike ; but.  Count- 
ess, can  you  not  see  that  a woman,  even  though  she  be  an 
Empress,  wants  her  husband  to  herself  once  in  a while? 

“I  have  begged  His  Majesty  a thousand  times  to  take 
at  least  one  meal  besides  breakfast  alone  with  me  and  the 
children ; I reminded  him  of  the  happy  family  life  in  his 
own  father’s  house,  where,  except  when  guests  were  pres- 
ent, the  Crown  Prince  and  Princess  and  all  the  children 

73 


74 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


occupied  one  table,  while  the  suite  sat  at  another.  So 
both  master  and  retinue  enjoyed  perfect  freedom  at  this 
pleasantest  of  rendezvous ; but  the  Kaiser  will  not  hear  of 
it.  To  compare  his  Court  with  that  of  his  parents  is  as 
ridiculous  as  to  liken  the  establishment  of  some  petty  con- 
temporary prince  to  that  of  Louis  XIV,  he  says.” 

‘^According  to  the  Duchess  of  Orleans,  Charlotte  Eliza- 
beth of  Bavaria,  the  Grand  Monarque  would  have  no  one 
at  his  table  but  members  of  the  royal  family,”  I observed. 

The  Empress  rose  excitedly.  * ^ Is  that  authentic  ? ’ ’ she 
cried. 

^‘Your  Majesty  will  find  it  in  the  Duchess’s  memoirs, 
and  no  doubt,  also,  in  some  of  her  letters  to  the  first 
Queen  of  Prussia,  kept  in  our  archives.” 

“ I am  under  great  obligations  to  you  for  these  advices,” 
said  Her  Majesty,  holding  out  her  hand,  which  I kissed ; 
‘‘my  good  Knesebeck  shall  look  the  matter  up  to-day — at 
once.  Do  not  fail  to  send  for  him,  I beg  of  you,  when 
going  out.  But,”  continued  the  royal  lady,  and  the  ex- 
pression of  her  face  fell,  “will  the  Kaiser  care  one  way 
or  another?  You  know  he  thinks  it  due  to  his  position 
to  maintain  a certain  state  at  all  times  ; and  so  our  meals — 
the  few  we  have  together — are  made  semi-public  functions 
by  the  presence  of  officials  and  strangers,  while  my  poor 
children  are  perpetually  kept  up-stairs  and  hardly  see  their 
father.  ’ ’ 

Her  Majesty’s  complaint  is  only  too  well  founded.  With 
the  exception  of  first  breakfast,  all  meals  in  the  palace 
are  presided  over  by  the  marshal  du  jour,  either  Baron 
von  Lyncker  or  Herr  von  Egloffstein,  while  two  imperial 
adjutants,  Grand-mistress  von  Brockdorff,  two  dames  of  the 
Court,  and  one  of  the  Kaiser’s  and  the  Kaiserin’s  cham- 
berlains are  bound  to  attend.  Besides,  all  members  of 
their  Majesties’  titled  entourage  have  the  entree  tg  the 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


75 


royal  board,  and  are  expected  to  avail  themselves  of  this 
prerogative  as  often  as  possible,  whether  on  duty  or  not. 

That,  under  the  circumstances,  the  sociable  features  are 
lost  sight  of  and  the  stately  character  of  the  affair  becomes 
emphasized,  is  self-evident,  the  more  so  as  there  are  always 
guests,  their  number  varying  between  two  and  fourteen,  or 
even  twenty,  on  ordinary  days. 

The  house  regulations  provide  that  a list  of  invited  per- 
sons be  presented  to  the  Empress  and  her  ladies  early  every 
morning,  so  that  they  can  dress  accordingly;  but  my  experi- 
ence shows  that  it  will  never  do  to  wear  anything  but  one’s 
second-best  bib  and  tucker  at  table,  whether  the  bulletin 
announces  a brace  of  nobodies  or  half  a dozen  ministers 
and  ambassadors,  for,  at  the  last  moment.  His  Majesty  may 
bring  in  the  Chancellor,  some  sovereign  or  prince  travelling 
incognito y or  a whole  host  of  fine-looking  young  officers  whom 
he  may  have  come  across  on  one  of  his  rides  or  outings,  or 
who  happen  to  report  at  the  palace  about  meal-time.  His 
habit  of  issuing  these  invitations,  however,  does  not  neces- 
sarily imply  that  William  is  a hospitable  man;  maybe  he 
does  not  care  a snap  of  his  fingers  for  the  individuals 
dragged  to  the  gilded  chair  of  ennui  by  ‘^all-highest  com- 
mand ; ” he  invites  these  gentlemen  merely  because  they 
promise  diversion,  either  by  reason  of  their  personality, 
or  by  information  or  gossip  in  their  possession, — and  any- 
thing to  escape  the  monotony  of  our  daily  surroundings, 
is  the  Kaiser’s  continuous  prayer. 

If  his  wife  and  her  ladies  are  embarrassed,  so  much  the 
worse  for  them.  As  to  the  cuisine,  it  is  its  business  to  be 
prepared  for  emergencies.  But  one  must  study  the  face  of 
the  Court-marshal,  when  five  or  ten  minutes  before  dinner 
or  supper  time  half  a dozen,  or  twice  as  many,  extra  covers 
have  to  be  laid,  to  appreciate  the  amount  of  labor  that  these 
imperial  surprise  parties  call  for. 


76 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


It  is  not  a mere  matter  of  lengthening  or  broadening 
a table,  and  increasing  the  quantity  of  plate,  crystal,  and 
silver,  but  frequently  the  entire  order  of  the  seats  must  be 
changed,  each  guest,  save  one,  being  entitled  to  triumph 
over  the  other  by  reason  of  his  patent  of  nobility,  his  rank 
in  the  army,  or  on  account  of  the  orders  and  decorations  he 
may  possess.  Think  of  the  work  involved,  of  the  danger  the 
Major-domo  is  running  ! I can  assure  the  reader  that  no 
official  of  Emperor  William’s  Court  would  die  of  ennui 
if  unable  to  fill  up  his  or  her  time  with  ceremonies,  ’ ’ Goethe 
notwithstanding.  Our  Court-marshals,  above  all,  must  have 
memories  of  unusual  capacity,  patience  enough  to  stock  a 
hospital,  and  some  common-sense  besides,  and  even  then 
mistakes  are  sometimes  made. 

There  was  Count  Perponcher,  old  Emperor  William’s 
perennial  grand-master,  for  instance.  Of  the  two  first-named 
qualifications  this  dignitary  was  possessed  to  a marked  de- 
gree ; only  in  the  latter  virtue  did  he  prove  deficient  on 
one  historical  occasion,  when,  during  Czar  Alexander’s  visit 
to  Berlin,  in  1888,  he  seated  Bismarck  at  a state  banquet 
among  the  scions  of  the  lower  nobility,  giving  prece- 
dence to  a lot  of  nonentities  because  their  names  figure 
in  the  second  part  of  the  Almanach  de  Gotha,  while  the 
Chancellor’s  is  in  the  third. 

His  Grace  did  not  say  a word  in  protest  at  the  time, 
but  when,  a year  or  so  later  (in  August,  1889),  Emperor 
Francis  Joseph  returned  the  newly-made  Kaiser’s  visit, 
he  took  his  revenge.  Not  only  was  Count  Eulenburg, 
Perponcher’ s successor,  politely  ordered  to  place  the 
Prince  where  he  belonged,  opposite  the  two  Emperors, 
but  to  further  emphasize  his  position  at  Court  and  in 
the  state,  Bismarck  chose  to  come  two  minutes  after  their 
Majesties  and  all  the  august  company  had  been  busy  with 
their  soup. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


77 


Eulenburg  and  the  rest  of  the  goldsticks  were  pale  with 
terror  and  indignation,  but  Bismarck  cut  short  their  timid 
remonstrances  with  a haughty:  ^‘Quod  licet  Jovi,  non  licet 
bovi in  polite  English : Calm  yourself,  no  ordinary  mortal 
will  dare  imitate  Jupiter’s  audacious  step. 

These  repasts  at  the  Berlin  Court,  whether  of  the  noon, 
evening,  or  night  order,  are,  as  intimated,  the  very  reverse 
of  convivial,  and  are  not  very  elaborate  as  to  menu,  either, 
for  listless  weariness  hangs  over  the  majestic  board  like  a 
black  pall,  checking  every  individual  effort.  The  women 
sit  as  if  encased  in  the  tightest  of  corsets  up  to  their  throats, 
the  men — 


“ a wooden,  pedantic  race, 

In  every  motion  displaying 

The  same  right  angle,  and  in  the  face 

A frigid  conceit  betraying. 

They  sit  about  stiffly,  as  though  upon  stilts, 
Stuck  up  as  straight  as  a needle. 

Appearing  as  if  they  had  swallowed  the  stick 
Once  used  as  the  best  means  to  wheedle. 

Yes,  ne’er  has  entirely  vanished  the  rod; 
They  carry  it  now  inside  them.” — Heine. 


But  this  starchy  demeanor  is  not  confined  to  the  retinue 
and  guests;  Emperor  and  Empress,  sitting  opposite  each 
other,  are  as  ceremonious  and  formal  as  any  of  the  rest  of 
the  company  who  hang  upon  the  all-highest  eyes  and  lips 
with  such  assiduity  as  to  preclude  enjoyment  of  the  things 
set  before  them. 

Three  weeks’  table  duty  suffices  to  ruin  any  one’s  di- 
gestion,” is  a saying  at  Court,  and,  it  might  be  added,  “it’s 
enough  to  spoil  one’s  savoir-vivre  too.”  In  the  fashiona- 
ble restaurant  at  the  Hotel  de  Rome,  in  Berlin,  a little  old 
man  was  pointed  out  to  me  by  a friend  from  the  provinces. 


78 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


I am  astonished,”  said  my  escort,  that  they  allow  so  ill- 
mannered  a person  in  this  place.” 

“You  mean  the  white-haired  and  beribboned  gentleman 
in  the  corner  ? ’ ’ 

“The  same,  who  swings  his  toothpick  so  furiously.” 

“Why,  it  is  Count , chamberlain  to  the  Empress 

Frederick.” 

“Really?  And  who  may  be  the  gentleman  with  him 
who  strokes  his  long  mutton-chops  over  his  soup-plate?” 

“That  is  President,  formerly  Minister,  von  Puttkammer.” 

“But  they  behave  like  pigs.  Do  they  learn  that  at  the 
royal  table  ? ’ ’ 

“Nonsense;  in  the  presence  of  their  Majesties  they  are 
under  such  awful  restraint,  that,  off  duty,  they  let  them- 
selves loose,  like  boys  escaped  from  boarding-school,  drink 
out  of  their  saucers,  and  wipe  their  mouths  on  their  sleeves.” 

The  guests  and  attendants  at  table  are  in  gala  or  demi 
toilet,  most  of  the  younger  officers  being  as  tightly  corseted 
as  the  ladies,  while  all  the  men  wear  the  narrowest  of 
uniforms,  that  scarcely  allow  them  to  breathe.  Add  to 
this  feeling  of  physical  distress  the  overpowering  anxiety 
of  preparing  for  the  supreme  moment  when  the  Kaiser  or 
Kaiserin  shall  address  one  of  them,  or  give  the  signal  for 
laughter,  and  it  will  be  obvious  at  once  that  taking  pot- 
luck  with  Prussia’s  royalty  has  its  drawbacks. 

But  the  most  miserable  person  of  the  glittering  assem- 
blage is  she  who  wears  the  costliest  gown,  the  biggest  of 
diamonds.  At  meal-time  the  Kaiser  chooses  to  make  a 
display  of  his  conversational  gifts,  or  rather  his  wit ; and 
Auguste  Victoria  knows  only  too  well  that  she  cannot  rival 
the  one,  and  that  the  other  is  out  of  her  reach.  So  she  sits 
quietly,  addressing  little  nothings  to  her  ladies  in  an  under- 
tone from  time  to  time,  while  painfully  alert,  that  none  of 
His  Majesty’s  jokes  and  innuendoes  escape  her. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


79 


William  seldom  speaks  to  his  wife  directly,  except  to  say 
that  he  likes  or  dislikes  her  costume ; and  if  she  asks  ques- 
tions, he  answers  in  a tone  that  forbids  further  conversa- 
tion ; quite  frequently  he  does  not  reply  at  all,  turning 
his  left  ear  toward  the  Empress  and  affecting  not  to  hear 
her. 

At  such  moments,  when  pride  and  love  must  rage  in  her 
bosom,  we  all  feel  deeply  for  Her  Majesty.  Sometimes  she 
appears  ready  to  cry  in  the  face  of  everybody;  but  the 
woman  in  her  must  forever  give  way  to  the  Queen,  and  so 
she  swallows  her  mortification,  sits  still,  and  smiles,  her 
little  gray  eyes  languidly  fixed  on  the  husband  so  eager  to 
shine  as  a humorist. 

Ah,  the  sorry  attempts  at  jesting  that  guests  at  the  royal 
board  must  endure  ! By  reeling  off  any  absurdity  that  may 
come  into  his  head,  the  Kaiser  tries  ^Ho  put  life  into  the 
company,”  as  he  calls  it,  and  his  remarks,  usually  addressed 
to  one  of  the  adjutants,  provoke  peals  of  laughter,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  as  soon  as  the  author  gives  the  cue  for 
hilarity  by  accentuating  the  end  of  his  speech  with  a roar. 
The  person  spoken  to  must  pay  back  in  the  same  coin,  and, 
naturally,  does  his  best,  for  His  Majesty  admires  nothing  so 
much  as  the  gift  of  repartee.  But  for  all  that,  the  rejoinder 
is  frequently  as  weak,  or  weaker  even,  than  the  pleasantry 
that  occasioned  it.  It  is  one  thing  to  be  a lord  among  wits, 
and  another  to  be  a wit  among  lords. 

Why  is  my  big  brother  like  the  Fliegende  Blatter  in  a 
foreign  country?”  asked  Prince  Henry  of  a small  circle 
of  sympathizing  relatives  during  a recent  visit  of  our  Court 
in  Kiel. 

All  the  highnesses,  royal  and  otherwise,  gave  it  up. 

‘‘Because,”  quoth  Henry,  “he  is  always  sure  of  rais- 
ing a laugh  whether  he  offers  something  witty  or  inane. 
So  it  is  with  the  Fliegende  Blatter.  It  has  a reputation 


8o 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


for  being  funny,  and,  where  German  is  not  understood,  is 
applauded  indiscriminately.” 

Supper  at  the  Court  is  no  more  entertaining  than  the 
midday  meal:  the  same  stiff-necked  formality,  the  same 
strain  after  effect ; the  Kaiser  endeavoring  to  be  his  own 
merry-Andrew,  the  rest  of  the  company  dull  for  the  most 
part.  As  to  the  Empress,  she  remains  as  impassive  as  ever, 
smiling  in  her  subdued  manner ; only  her  corsage  is  con- 
siderably lower,  and  she  wears  an  extra  handful  or  two  of 
jewels.  An  extreme  decollete  is  Her  Majesty’s  strong 
point;  but,  despite  allurements  of  toilet  and  the  assiduity 
with  which  her  charms  are  set  off,  William  cannot  be 
induced  to  remain  in  his  wife’s  presence  a minute  longer 
than  courtesy  demands.  As  soon  as  coffee  is  served  (in 
Potsdam  this  is  done  in  the  so-called  Tassen  Zimmer,  an 
apartment  modelled  in  the  shape  of  a cup  and  the  furni- 
ture of  which  is  so  constructed  as  to  assist  that  illusion), 
the  Emperor  takes  himself  off  with  his  men  friends  and 
attendants  and  repairs  to  the  billiard-room,  where  he  sits 
for  hours,  with  one  leg  on  the  table,  swinging  the  other  to 
and  fro,  while  his  adjutants  and  guests  entertain  him  with 
imitations  of  music-hall  and  circus  people,  small  talk,  and 
droll  stories  of  the  coarsest  grain,  reeking  with  the  fume  of 
the  drill-grounds  and  the  barrack-mess. 

This  love  of  risque  stories  is  a Hohenzollern  failing ; con- 
temporary writers  agree  that  Frederick  the  Great  shunned 
woman’s  society  because  it  obliged  him  to  bridle  his  tongue 
and  observe  the  ordinary  decencies  of  life ; the  “romantic  ” 
Frederick  William  IV  was  a trafficker  in  classical  and 
modern  pornographic  literature,  and  the  present  Kaiser’s 
grossness  of  speech  is  notorious  enough  to  find  an  echo 
in  the  imperial  nursery.  Apropos  of  this,  a funny  thing 
happened  several  years  ago,  when  Major  von  Falkenhayn, 
then  governor  of  the  older  princes,  complained  to  His 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


8l 


Majesty  that  his  first-born  constantly  used  a very  nasty 
word  against  his  brothers  and  playmates. 

^‘The  devil ! ” cried  the  Kaiser;  ‘‘he  must  be  broken  of 
that ; but  where  did  the  little  Scheisskerl  (the  very  same 
phrase  complained  of)  hear  that  expression?’* 

An  incident  like  the  one  concerning  the  wicked  Teckels, 
mentioned  in  another  chapter,  is  at  all  times  sure  of  royal 
appreciation.  William  will  talk  for  weeks  about  it,  and 
neither  his  friends  nor  the  dignitaries  of  state  with  whom 
he  comes  in  contact  are  spared  the  recital,  including  dis- 
gusting details.  Indeed,  three-quarters  of  the  time  when 
the  public  imagines  William  to  be  wrestling  with  prob- 
lems of  the  day  he  sits  on  the  billiard-table  in  the  de- 
scribed attitude,  with  his  adjutants  and  the  chief  members 
of  his  military  and  civil  households  standing  around  him, 
smoking  cigarettes  and  telling  stories,  and  listening  to  tales 
affecting  personages  of  the  Court  and  society  here  and 
abroad. 

And  while  this  lascivious  tattle  is  carried  on.  Her  Majesty 
sits,  perchance,  in  the  Cup  Room,  magnificently  gowned, 
knitting  shapeless  little  woollen  caps  for  orphan  asylums, 
and  talking  religion  and  cheap  charity  schemes  to  her 
grand-master,  Baron  Mirbach,  or  to  the  much-beloved  von 
der  Knesebeck.  What  contrasts ! what  dissimulation ! I 
often  thought  to  myself,  when,  being  in  attendance  upon 
Her  Majesty,  the  echo  of  sneering  allusions  to  a friend’s 
or  acquaintance’s  wife  or  daughter  wafted  past  me  through 
the  door  of  the  billiard-room,  left  ajar  by  some  lackey  with 
his  tablet,  or  opened  by  the  Kaiserin’s  order,  that  she  may 
feast  her  eyes  on  the  husband  she  loves  so  well.  The  head 
of  the  nation,  whose  unceasing  industry  is  the  talk  of  the 
Continent,  vainly  trying  to  kill  time  with  buffoonery;  the 
sovereign  lady,  “mother  of  the  poor,’’  working  penny  caps 
in  a gown  the  cost  of  which  would  keep  for  ten  years  the 


82 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


poor  boy  or  girl  for  whom  the  knitted  thing  is  intended, 
and  assure  the  little  one  a splendid  education. 

It  is  a saying  at  Court : ‘^Give  the  Kaiser  an  up-to-date 
rendering  of  the  ^ Merry  Jests  of  King  Louis  XI,’  and  you 
will  receive  a standing  invitation  to  accompany  him  on 
his  Northland  trips;  tell  him  something  more  indelicate 
than  the  ^Tattle  of  the  Nuns  of  Poissy,’  and  he  will  book 
you  for  an  ambassadorship ; ’ ’ and  that  is  no  exaggeration, 
as  will  be  seen  in  the  chapter  on  William’s  boon  com- 
panions. 

The  Kaiser’s  inclination  for  the  ludicrous  even  intrudes 
itself  into  ^‘business  of  state;”  for,  as  he  considers  his 
ministers  but  royal  servants  of  high  degree,  so  are  Court 
functions  regarded  by  him  as  quasi  affairs  of  government. 

When  I have  to  stand  three  or  four  hours  to  see  a few 
thousand  persons  pass  by,  I like  to  get  some  fun  out  of 
it,  if  possible,”  I heard  him  say  to  Court-marshal  Count 
Eulenburg,  when  the  latter  reported,  at  the  New  Year’s 
reception  of  1896,  that  some  six  thousand  persons  had 
made  application  for  the  grand  Cour^  the  German  Draw- 
ing Room. 

‘^At  Your  Majesty’s  command,”  answered  Eulenburg, 
promptly ; and,  as  the  little  blonde  courtier  withdrew,  the 
Kaiser  turned  to  the  Empress:  ‘‘What  is  this  devil  of  a 
Eulenburg  up  to  ? I asked  him  to  make  the  Schleppen  Cour 
endurable,  and  he  positively  smiled  assent.  I hope  he  will 
not  hire  a troop  of  the  great  unwashed  to  masquerade 
before  us  in  the  guise  of  Socialist  deputies.” 

The  Court-marshal  had,  of  course,  no  thought  of  forcing 
things,  but  shrewdly  surmised  that,  among  the  thousands  of 
new-comers  anxious  to  make  their  first  bow  before  royalty, 
and  among  the  old  friends  ready  to  pay  their  respects  at 
the  beginning  of  the  season  of  festivities,  some  one,  of  a 
surety,  would  furnish  food  for  amusement. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


83 


As  it  happened,  one  of  the  persons  to  be  presented  was  a 
Countess  von  Arnim,  7iee  Countess  von  der  Schulenberg,  who 
is  exceedingly  short-sighted.  Eulenburg  knew  her  infirmity, 
and  was,  perhaps,  thinking  of  it  when  smiling  acquiescence 
to  William’s  proposition.  At  any  rate,  contrary  to  custom, 
he  let  Her  Ladyship  proceed  to  the  throne  sans  guide,  and 
she  bravely  passed  both  their  Majesties  without  obeisance. 

Everybody  stared,  and  I confess  myself  to  having  felt 
extremely  uncomfortable ; but,  happily,  the  Kaiser,  remem- 
bering his  Court-marshal’s  promise,  overlooked  the  slight 
to  his  dignity. 

Adieu,  gnddige  Frau/''  his  sharp  voice  rang  out, — 

adieu,  and  no  matter  if  you  have  the  advantage  of  us.” 

At  the  same  moment,  the  poor  Countess,  who  had  mean- 
while reached  one  of  the  embrasures  of  the  windows,  bowed 
to  the  ground,  thinking  that  by  this  time  she  stood  in  front 
of  the  throne,  and  then,  hearing  the  Kaiser’s  sarcastic 
remark,  promptly  swooned. 

Next  day,  at  noon,  she  reported  to  Countess  Brockdorff 
to  submit  her  excuses,  and  was  astonished  to  learn  that  His 
Majesty  had  given  orders  to  invite  her  to  dinner. 

*^The  Kaiser  wants  to  have  more  fun  with  me  ! ” cried 
poor  Arnim. 

‘ ‘ Not  at  all ; he  desires  to  thank  you  for  the  diversion 
offered  during  that  tedious  ceremony.” 

‘‘I  vouch  for  that,”  said  Eulenburg,  when  appealed  to, 
^^and,  in  proof  of  His  Majesty’s  gracious  feelings,  I extend 
the  invitation  to  include  Madame’s  charming  daughter.” 
He  added : ‘^Whoever  amuses  the  King  cannot  be  too  well 
treated.” 

And,  as  a matter  of  fact,  the  Countess  and  Mademoiselle 
were  nearly  smothered  with  kindness  by  their  Majesties; 
I do  not  know  of  any  persons,  comparative  strangers,  who 
were  so  well  treated  at  Court  as  these  ladies. 


84 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


The  Grand  Cour  of  1897  was  likewise  relieved  by  a ludi- 
crous incident.  On  that  occasion  a Fraulein  von  Bonin  had 
essayed  to  represent  a lily ; and  not  only  her  entire  dress, 
including  the  train,  was  made  to  bear  out  that  idea,  but  on 
each  side  of  her  coiffure  two  Easter  lilies  rose  high  above 
her,  nodding  to  and  fro  with  every  movement. 

‘‘Good  Lord ! ” said  the  Kaiser  sotto  voce,  but  so  loud 
that  the  chamberlain  on  duty  could  hear  it,  as  this  botani- 
cal wonder  passed  by,  “I  hope  B (naming  one  of  his 

brothers-in-law)  won’t  see  her.  He  might  take  it  for  an 
allusion  to  the  pretty  calf-colored  antlers  his  wife  is  grow- 
ing on  his  forehead.’  ’ At  this,  the  Empress,  who  does  not 
like  the  lady  alluded  to,  burst  out  laughing,  and  it  took  the 
imperial  couple  some  minutes  to  regain  their  composure. 

That  in  the  feverish  hunt  after  amusements  and  excite- 
ment, family  life  at  the  German  Court,  of  which  the  con- 
temporary press  makes  so  much,  is  a delusion,  goes  without 
saying,  though,  to  accuse  William  of  neglecting  his  Frau, 
in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  would,  perhaps,  be  unjust, 
for  he  keeps  up  appearances  in  a general  way,  and  I have 
reasons  to  believe  that  he  loves  his  wife.  Yet  he  has  a 
knack  of  forgetting  her  very  existence  whenever  he  thinks 
he  is  better  off  alone,  which,  I know,  is  extremely  painful 
to  Auguste  Victoria. 

And  the  worst  of  it  is,  this  fixed  idea  of  complete  self- 
sufficiency  grows  stronger  and  stronger  with  him  as  his 
egotism  gradually  develops  into  egomania.  With  all  that, 
however,  he  is  not  an  unkind  husband,  albeit  his  actions 
often  imply  great  lack  of  conjugal  gentleness  and  gener- 
osity. It  is  merely  his  boundless  love  of  self  that  claims 
ascendency  in  his  every  action,  no  matter  whether  it 
affects  the  best  friend  he  has  in  the  world  or  his  worst 
enemy.  As  in  those  awful  days  of  San  Remo,  when  he 
claimed,  as  representative  of  the  old  Emperor,  precedence 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


8s 


over  his  afflicted  mother  on  the  way  to  the  village  church,  so 
he  uses  his  present  supreme  position  as  a club  to  intimidate 
all  directly  depending  upon  him  into  a state  of  quiet,  but 
utter,  submissiveness.  And  this  has  been  going  on  so  long 
that  the  Empress,  on  her  part,  has  become  used  to  it,  and 
would  think  it  queer,  indeed,  if  this  state  of  affairs  were 
changed. 

As  to  the  children,  they  are  there  for  dynastic  purposes, 
to  learn  and  to  grow  up;  what  more  can  be  required?  Her 
Majesty’s  complaint,  that  they  hardly  see  their  father,  is 
true;  seldom,  if  ever,  do  the  youngsters  appear  at  table, 
and  the  reports  of  their  governor  as  to  conduct  and  prog- 
ress in  learning  must  suffice,  time  for  personal  consulta- 
tion or  a friendly  confab  not  being  available. 

am  afraid  the  Kaiser  will  never  take  interest  in  the 
children  until  they  actually  enter  military  service,”  said 
the  Empress  to  me,  after  I had  read  to  her  an  article  re- 
porting His  Majesty’s  speech  on  the  occasion  of  Prince 
Adalbert’s  entry  into  the  navy  (June  24,  1894).  Of  course, 
I politely  disagreed  with  Her  Majesty  on  that  point,  but  at 
the  same  time  could  not  help  thinking  it  would  be  a good 
thing  if  these  fears  were  realized.  Imagine  a father  taking 
his  ten-year-old  stripling  by  the  hand,  and,  after  presenting 
him  to  a regiment  of  gray-beards,  battle-worn  and  noted 
for  their  education  and  courage,  say  to  them:  ‘‘This 
moment,  when  Prince  Adalbert  becomes  one  of  you,  is  of 
the  most  eminent  importance  to  the  entire  history  of  the 
Fatherland.”  Who  would  blame  a boy,  after  that,  for  over- 
bearing conduct  and  disinclination  for  study?  If,  at  the  age 
of  ten,  he  be  a historic  personage,  to  whom  old  and  tried 
men  must  look  up  as  to  an  idol,  a moulder  of  the  nation’s 
destinies,  what  is  the  use  of  further  effort?  Elagabalus 
became  Roman  Emperor  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  yet  had 
to  wait  four  years  before  he  was  recognized  as  a god. 


86 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


To  come  back  to  our  own  times,  compare  William’s 
eulogy  of  his  son  with  the  speeches  the  Kaiser’s  grand- 
father and  father  delivered  at  his  own  introduction  to  the 
army,  on  February  7,  1877,  when,  having  reached  his 
eighteenth  year,  he  became  a lieutenant  in  the  First 
Guards. 

Said  the  old  Emperor:  ^^The  service  expected  of  thee 
will  require  many  functions  that  may  appear  petty  and 
unnecessary  in  thy  untried  eyes.  But  thou  must  learn  to 
understand  that  there  is  nothing  trivial  in  doing  one’s  duty, 
and  that  each  stone  in  the  construction  of  our  army  must 
be  well  hewn  and  thoroughly  anchored,  if  the  grand  edifice 
shall  stand.  And  now  I commit  thee  to  thy  labors,  which 
fulfil  as  thy  superiors  dictate.” 

And  the  father,  afterward  Emperor  Frederick,  said : 
am  proud  that  my  son  is  privileged  to  commence  his 
military  studies  in  the  First  Guards,  and  I congratulate  him 
on  his  good  luck.  He  ought  to  be  proud  to  wear  your 
uniform,  and  I commend  him  to  your  good  graces,  my 
comrades.  ’ ’ 

While  not  particularly  loving  toward  his  wife,  the  Em- 
peror honors  her  with  excessive  jealousy,  and  is  beside  him- 
self with  rage  if  a man-servant,  ever  so  innocently,  looks 
at  Her  Majesty  when  she  is  dressed  in  a dhollete  costume. 
As  Napoleon  bounced  M.  Leroy,  the  Worth  of  his  times, 
for  complimenting  Marie  Louise  on  her  fine  shoulders,  so 
William  deals  unmercifully  with  officials  and  servants  who 
venture  to  look  at  his  wife. 

One  day  in  the  beginning  of  December,  1889,  while  the 
Kaiser  was  on  the  way  to  Dessau,  Her  Majesty  went  to  bed 
early  in  the  afternoon  out  of  sheer  chagrin,  because  she 
had  not  been  allowed  to  accompany  her  husband,  and, 
while  reading  a novel  by  lamp-light,  she  was  disturbed  by 
a stealthy  noise  at  the  door. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


87 


It  made  her  sit  up  in  eager  expectation.  Could  it  be 
possible  that  the  Emperor  had  reconsidered  his  decision, 
and  had  returned  to  take  her  along  as  first  promised? 
Auguste  Victoria  prepared  to  look  extra  charming ; but  who 
shall  describe  her  terror,  when,  instead  of  the  expected  hus- 
band, the  black  curly  head  of  a man-servant,  bearing  a 
load  of  fire-wood  on  his  shoulder,  appeared,  and  cautiously 
spied  about  to  see  if  he  might  enter. 

The  Empress  gave  a scream  of  rage  and  agony,  while  a 
crash,  as  if  a hundred-weight  of  sticks  had  come  to  the 
ground,  and  hurrying  footsteps,  told  the  fate  of  the  trans- 
gressor. 

A second  later  the  luncheon  of  Kammerfrau  von  Haake, 
and  of  the  wardrobe  and  chamber  women  eating  in  the 
maids’  ordinary  down-stairs,  was  disturbed  by  incessant 
ringing  of  the  electric  bells  from  the  royal  apartment. 
It  was  at  once  evident  that  Her  Majesty  was  pressing  her 
hand  against  the  row  of  electric  buttons  at  her  bedside. 
What  could  have  happened?  Had  fire  broken  out,  and 
was  the  Kaiserin  in  dire  distress? 

The  women  ran  to  the  bedroom,  despatching  several 
lackeys  they  met  on  the  way  to  notify  the  house-marshal, 
chamberlains,  and  Court-physicians,  as  they  expected  to 
find  their  mistress  half-dead  at  the  very  least.  When  they 
burst  into  the  room,  however,  they  quickly  perceived  that 
their  apprehensions  were  exaggerated  : the  august  Lady  was 
not  hurt,  nor  was  she  in  any  visible  peril,  but,  instead,  sat 
up  in  bed  shaking  with  indignation.  “A  thief,  or  at  any 
rate  a man,  entered  my  room  stealthily,”  cried  Her  Majesty, 
gasping  for  breath.  “ The  matter  must  be  fully  investigated, 
and  His  'Majesty  must  be  informed  at  once.  Let  the  in- 
truder be  arrested  and  brought  to  justice  without  delay.” 

The  unhappy  quartet  of  servants,  von  Haake,  Schwerdt- 
feger,  Gleim,  and  Schade,  were  speechless.  It  would 


88 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


kill  His  Majesty  to  receive  such  a despatch,”  suggested  the 
Kammerfrau  at  last,  and  the  Empress  decided  to  consult 
with  her  grand-mistress,  Grafin  Brockdortf. 

I happened  to  be  in  the  Countess’s  apartment  when 
Frau  Schade  and  Frau  Gleim  came  to  report  in  breathless 
monosyllables. 

‘‘A  man  in  the  Kaiserin’s  chamber — impossible  ! ” cried 
Brockdorff,  adding:  ‘Gt  will  cost  us  our  positions  if  His 
Majesty  hears  of  it.” 

Maybe  the  Kaiserin  has  been  dreaming;  she  had  cold 
pork  for  second  breakfast,”  I put  in. 

“No,  it  is  really  true,  others  besides  Her  Majesty  have 
heard  his  steps,”  said  Frau  Gleim. 

At  this  moment,  Madame  von  Larisch,  mistress  of  the 
household,  entered  to  know  the  cause  of  the  uproar  that 
was  shaking  the  palace  to  its  foundations.  “If  you 
will  wait  here  for  a little  while,  you  shall  hear  it  all,” 
said  Grafin  Brockdorff,  already  in  the  corridor.  Return- 
ing after  fifteen  minutes.  Her  Excellency  walked  right 
over  to  where  I was  sitting  with  Frau  von  Larisch,  and, 
assuming  her  most  haughty  tone,  addressed  her  in  these 
words:  “By  command  of  Her  Majesty,  I have  to  an- 
nounce to  you  the  all-highest  disfavor.  I think  it  would 
be  best  if  you  packed  your  Siebensachen  (duds)  and  left 
at  once.” 

Madame  von  Larisch  drew  herself  up.  “Your  Excel- 
lency,” she  said,  “I  demand  an  explanation.” 

“Your  Ladyship  shall  have  it  and  without  delay.  Her 
Majesty  distinctly  commanded  me  to  take  off  your  head, 
^reissen  Sie  ihr  den  Kopf  ab,'  and  I have  merely  given 
the  implied  meaning  of  the  all-highest  words.” 

“ But  what  is  it  all  about  ?”  I saw  that  it  was  high  time 
to  interfere  between  the  two  ladies,  who  had  never  shown 
much  love  for  each  other. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


89 


While  Her  Majesty  was  in  bed,”  said  the  Countess, 
with  much  deliberation,  ‘‘one  of  the  fire-place  attendants 
entered  with  a load  of  wood,  and  the  Kaiserin  blames 
Frau  von  Larisch  for  the  intrusion ; this  after  I had  suc- 
ceeded in  demonstrating  to  the  august  Lady  that  the  man 
must  necessarily  be  innocent,  for  he  could  not  know  that 
Her  Majesty  was  in  the  house.  However,  Kammerherr 
von  der  Knesebeck  had  to  telegraph  the  whole  incident, 
with  all  details,  to  Dessau.  ’ ’ 

Several  hours  later  the  whole  palace  knew  that  Johann, 
the  wood-boy,  had  been  instantly  dismissed  without  com- 
pensation for  his  loss  of  pension,  and  a bad  “character” 
into  the  bargain.  Frau  von  Larisch,  to  everybody’s  sur- 
prise, went  unpunished,  while  next  morning  an  autograph 
letter  from  His  Majesty  arrived,  commanding  that  hence- 
forth no  male  servant  should  enter  the  joint  bedroom  or  the 
Kaiserin’s  dressing-room,  all  the  work,  including  wood  and 
water  carrying,  taking  up  of  carpets,  etc.,  being  thrown 
upon  the  maids. 

This  incident  has  a sequel,  for.  Her  Majesty  being  as 
fastidious  about  girls  in  her  room  (when  the  Kaiser  is  pres- 
ent) as  William  is  about  man-servants,  she  is  now  obliged 
to  make  her  own  fire  in  the  grate  on  chilly  mornings 
whenever  her  husband  is  at  home.  What  a parody  on 
royal  state  this, — the  Empress-Queen  getting  up  in  her 
“nightie,”  and  in  the  cold  and  damp,  to  light  her  own 
fire  ! Verily,  truth  is  stranger  by  far  than  fiction  ! 

Although  very  partial  to  courtly  splendor  and  festivities, 
which  cause  a conflux  of  people,  the  Kaiser  hates  noth- 
ing more  than  the  fetes  which  etiquette  compels  him  to 
hold  annually  in  the  Berlin  Schloss ; he  hates  them  prin- 
cipally because  that  magnificent  pile,  appearing  so  for- 
midable from  the  outside,  and  which  was  designed  for 
Brandenburg  society  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 


90 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


century,  is  entirely  inadequate  to  the  accommodation  of 
the  many  thousands  nowadays  privileged  to  dance  attend- 
ance upon,  and  actually  dance,  eat,  and  drink  with  the 
Kaiser  and  Kaiserin. 

Of  course  there  is  always  room  for  the  sovereign,  no 
matter  if  his  company  be  packed  like  sardines;  the  dis- 
comfort of  his  guests  does  not  trouble  him,  either,  but  the 
ocular  demonstration  of  the  unsuitableness  of  his  house 
does ; it  sorely  aggravates  him  to  be  reminded  of  the  fact 
that  he  is  not  rich  enough  to  build  reception-rooms  equal 
to  the  demands  of  the  times. 

“If  my  ancestors  could  afford  to  construct  this  castle, 
why  should  not  I erect  one  suitable  to  my  requirements  ? ’ ’ 
he  argues,  forgetting  the  fact  that  not  the  Hohenzollerns, 
but  the  Prussian  people,  paid  for  the  Schloss  and  were  all 
but  bankrupted  in  doing  so,  the  builders.  Elector  Fred- 
erick and  the  first  two  Kings  of  Prussia,  meanwhile  prom- 
ising to  pay  back  the  millions  wrung  from  their  pockets — 
when  their  alchemist  had  succeeded  in  making  yellow 
metal.  So  the  castle  was  finished  under  false  pretences, 
and  the  necromancer,  being  unable  to  keep  his  word,  was 
hanged — all  of  which  happened  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  years  or  more  ago. 

The  winter  fetes  at  the  Prussian  Court  are  institutions 
in  their  way,  the  splendor  of  which  the  favor  or  disfavor 
of  the  monarch  may  enhance  or  reduce,  but  even  the 
sovereign’s  enmity — such  as  William  bears  to  these  festive 
entertainments — cannot  blot  them  out.  To  do  that  would 
seem  too  much  like  breaking  with  time-honored  customs 
and  taking  away  the  perquisites  of  two  mighty  classes  in 
the  state  : the  trades-people’s  profits,  and  the  aristocracy’s 
chief  opportunity  for  disporting  its  few  remaining  heredi- 
tary privileges.  Only  in  case  of  Court  mourning,  or  great 
national  disasters,  may  the  list  be  curtailed,  and  never  was 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


91 


a Prussian  King  more  eager  to  take  advantage  of  these 
means  of  escape  than  William  is. 

When,  on  January  4,  1896,  his  granduncle,  Prince  Alex- 
ander of  Prussia,  died,  his  first  words  were:  ‘‘  Now  we  may 
rid  ourselves  of  the  company  of  our  unknown  friends,  the 
sweet  plebs,  for  this  winter  at  least,”  and  Grand-master 
Count  Eulenburg  was  straightway  ordered  to  recall  the  invi- 
tations for  carnival  and  abandon  the  engagements  with  pur- 
veyors, etc.,  already  entered  into.  Yet  one  cannot  mourn 
a relative  of  the  seventh  or  eighth  degree  forever,  and 
the  Kaiser  all  the  more  readily  consented  to  give  one  more 
ball  before  the  end  of  the  season,  as  the  municipal  council 
of  Berlin  at  that  time  was  particularly  obstreperous,  and  as 
it  was  expected  that  by  a lavish  expenditure  of  money  flow- 
ing into  the  people’s  coffers  its  good  offices  could  be  gained. 
So,  when  almost  everybody  had  given  up  the  hope  of  danc- 
ing and  supping  ^^at  the  Kaiser’s,”  several  thousand  ladies 
and  gentlemen  were  made  happy  by  receiving  the  well- 
known  commands.” 

Then  came  that  affair  with  Ambassador  Herbette,  the 
political  side  of  which  is  public  property.  The  representa- 
tive of  La  Belle  France  objected  to  the  intimacy  that  had 
sprung  up  between  the  Kaiser  and  the  French  naval  attache ^ 
M.  de  Graucy.  *^If  you  understand  your  business,  you 
must  know  that  you  are  nothing  but  a well-paid  and  highly- 
ornamental  spy,”  he  is  reported  to  have  said  to  de  Graucy; 
“how  can  you  serve  your  country  in  that  capacity,  if  you 
allow  yourself  to  be  bamboozled  by  imperial  favors  and  daz- 
zled by  the  monarch’s  amiableness  and  charm  of  speech?” 

To  the  Emperor,  who  had  asked  him  as  a personal  favor 
to  desist  from  his  resolution  to  procure  M.  de  Graucy’s 
immediate  recall,  the  brave  Herbette  made  answer  : ^^Par- 
bleUy  Your  Majesty,  I insist  upon  doing  my  house-cleaning 
in  my  o^vn  way.” 


92 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


These  two  speeches  are  matters  of  historic  record,  in 
substance,  if  not  literally,  and  I may  add  that  the  above 
version  is  from  the  Kaiser’s  own  lips ; — I was  present  when 
His  Majesty  reported  the  case  to  the  Empress.  What  the 
world  does  not  know,  is  the  double  meaning  of  the  French- 
man’s allusion  to  house-cleaning.  An  ambassador,  like 
other  great  lords,  has  two  families,  a personal  and  an 
official  one.  De  Graucy  belonged  to  the  latter,  and 
Herbette  disowned  him  as  soon  as  so  extreme  a measure 
seemed  called  for.  But  by  that  time  stories  of  the  Kaiser’s 
faible  for  the  beautiful  Madame  Herbette  had  reached  the 
ears  of  her  complacent  husband,  invariably  the  last  indi- 
vidual to  hear  a rumor  of  that  kind. 

In  the  present  case,  scant  secrecy  had  been  observed ; 
frequenters  of  Pariser  Platz,  where  the  Embassy  is  located, 
had  noticed  the  Emperor’s  phaeton  and  pair  in  front  of 
the  hotel  for  half-hours  at  a time  day  by  day,  and  had 
talked  about  it,  first  to  curse  William’s  apparent  zeal  in 
running  after  the  Frenchman ; afterward,  when  they  had 
learned  of  the  existence  of  a beautiful  woman  in  the  man- 
sion, to  smile  approvingly  and  wish  the  sovereign  success 
on  his  excursions  into  the  enemy’s  camp. 

At  Court,  the  ice  had  been  broken  by  a remark  of 
the  Princess  of  Meiningen,  who  said  one  day,  when  the 
Kaiser’s  love  for  France  was  discussed:  “Yes,  and  I 
understand  he  has  the  good  taste  to  be  wanting  in  respect 
to  a Frenchwoman  of  esprit,  whom  we  all  know; ’’but,  as 
far  as  my  information  goes,  neither  Her  Royal  Highness 
nor  those  beer  philosophers  in  the  Linden  cafes  possessed 
a shadow  of  proof  to  back  up  their  abominable  tattle. 
There  was  probably  nothing  at  all  in  this  talk,  yet,  whether 
there  was  or  not,  Herbette  decided  to  stop  it.  When  the 
invitations  for  the  Court  ball  arrived,  he  accepted  with  a 
few  polite  phrases,  but  three  days  before  the  affair  came 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


93 


off  he  caused  Madame  to  send  her  regrets,  saying  that 
His  Excellency  alone  would  be  able  to  do  himself  the 
honor  to  attend  the  ball. 

House-marshal  Baron  von  Lyncker  happened  to  have 
business  in  the  Kaiser’s  study  when  the  perfumed  note 
bearing  the  ambassadress’s  initials  in  silver  arrived.  “His 
Majesty,”  he  says,  “tore  open  the  letter,  and,  scanning  its 
contents,  exclaimed : ‘ Advise  Eulenburg  that  the  ball  is 
off.  He  must  at  once  recall  the  invitations.’ 

“At  Your  Majesty’s  orders,”  said  the  dutiful  Herr  von 
Lyncker,  “but  as  the  greater  part  of  the  delicacies  for  the 
buffets  are  already  in  the  hands  of  the  chefs  and  pastry- 
cooks, while  the  sweetmeats  were  delivered  a few  hours 
ago,  what  is  Your  Majesty’s  pleasure  with  respect  to  these 
goods  ?’  ’ 

The  Emperor  had  listened  with  every  indication  of 
impatience. 

“ Never  mind,  the  stuff  that  cannot  be  used  in  the  house 
may  be  sent  to  the  hospitals,”  he  said  when  the  House- 
marshal  had  finished.  Then,  walking  straight  up  to  him 
and  staring  with  flaming  eyes  into  space,  the  Kaiser  con- 
tinued: “Do  you  know  why  I disappoint  these  several 
thousand  invited  persons  at  the  last  moment?  Because  I 
cannot  permit  Herbette  to  again  set  foot  in  my  house. 
He  wants  to  come,  but  he  shall  not.  Indeed,  I would 
rather  see  this  Schloss  in  ruins  than  spend  an  evening  with 
him  in  the  same  room.” 

He  read  Madame  Herbette’s  letter  a second  time,  and, 
acting  as  if  a sudden  thought  had  struck  him,  added : 
“The  news  that  de  Graucy  is  to  go  has  just  been  con- 
firmed. It  is  a direct  insult  and  scandal.  I will  not  rest 
until  Herbette  is  made  to  leave  Berlin.” 


CHAPTER  V 


The  Kaiser  has  many  nick-names ; Reise-Kaiser  (Drum- 
mer-Emperor), Gondola -Billy,  Wilhelm -der-Plotzliche 
(William-the-Sudden)  being  the  most  common;  but  the 
people  of  the  palace  call  him  Der  Einzige  (The  Only),  with 
apologies  to  Frederick  the  Great,  who  also  enjoyed  that 
title,  though  for  vastly  different  reasons, — The  On/y,  now 
that  Liebenau  is  gone. 

Major  von  Liebenau  was  a man  after  William’s  own 
heart,  his  double  in  more  than  one  respect. 

A lieutenant  in  the  First  Guards,  he  attracted  the  then 
Prince  William’s  attention  by  the  same  characteristics  that, 
it  is  claimed,  at  one  time  cemented  the  friendship  between 
the  heir  to  the  German  crown  and  the  young  man  destined 
to  inherit,  besides  Varzin,  the  Chancellorship  of  the  Em- 
pire, the  Presidency  of  the  Prussian  Ministry  of  State,  and 
all  the  rest  of  his  father’s  dignities.  William,  Herbert 
Bismarck,  von  Liebenau, — a triumvirate  of  ambition,  liber- 
tinage,  and  insolence  ! 

It  was  in  the  winter  of  1886  and  1887,  when  William 
studied  statecraft  in  the  foreign  office  under  Count  Her- 
bert’s tutelage,  that  Liebenau  got  his  real  foothold  in  the 
princely  menage^  then  established  in  the  Marble  Palace, 
which  he  ruled  with  a high  hand.  At  the  same  time  the 
heir  to  the  crown  was  revelling  in  the  charms  of  divers 
queens  of  tragedy,  comedy,  and  the  ballet,  connected 
with  the  royal  play  and  opera  houses,  taking  his  cue  about 

95 


96 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


‘‘the  only  use  woman’s  fit  for”  from  Count  Herbert,  who 
never  spoke  of  the  other  sex  except  in  the  coarsest  of 
terms. 

For  the  young  wife  who  saw  herself  reduced  to  the  posi- 
tion of  the  “ Holstein,”  good  enough  to  fill  a succession  of 
royal  cribs  ranging  in  size  like  the  pipes  of  an  organ,  but 
rigidly  excluded  from  her  husband’s  world  of  ideas  and 
ambitions,  which,  perhaps,  she  did  not  comprehend,  but, 
for  all  that,  endorsed  with  touching  sincerity,  these  were 
indeed  unhappy  days. 

How  often  she  has  poured  the  story  of  her  mortification 
and  disappointment  into  mine  and  the  Countess  Brock- 
dorff’ sears!  Poor  Princess ! she  had  been  brought  up  to 
the  sober  truth  that  royal  women  must  get  used  to  dividing 
their  husband  with  others,  and  bowed  her  blonde  head 
under  the  historic  bane  not  with  the  worst  of  grace.  What 
rent  her  heart  was  William’s  cynical  way  of  regarding 
woman’s  supreme  duty  and  highest  honor, — motherhood. 

“I  don’t  want  to  be  looked  upon  as  a means  for  propa- 
gating the  royal  race  exclusively,”  she  cried  once;  “but, 
under  Count  Bismarck’s  teachings,  the  Prince  seems  to 
have  forgotten  that  I possess  any  womanly  qualities  besides 
that  of  child-bearing.” 

Fearful  lest  Her  Royal  Highness’s  hatred  of  Count 
Herbert  might  lead  her  to  rash  remarks  in  the  presence 
of  the  old  Emperor  and  her  husband,  with  both  of  whom 
young  Bismarck  was  persona  grata^  I tried  to  intervene  by 
suggesting  that  he  was  not  altogether  a bad  man,  having 
fought  with  distinction  in  the  French  war. 

“Yes,  yes,  I heard  that  ad  nauseam,' ' interrupted  Auguste 
Victoria,  impatiently;  “he  is  said  to  have  received  three 
balls,  and  since  then  has  made  three  of  our  sex  extremely 
miserable, — that  person  in  Bonn,  who  caused  the  duel;  the 
poor  Princess  Carolath,  and  myself.  ’ ’ 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


97 


Countess  Brockdorff,  who  then,  as  now,  held  the  post  of 
grand-mistress,  flared  up  at  this:  “I  must  not  suffer  Your 
Royal  Highness  to  class  yourself  with  these  females,”  she 
said;  ‘‘it  is  morbid  excitement  that  consumes  you.” 

After  that,  I thought  it  my  duty  to  inform  the  Princess 
Imperial  of  the  state  of  affairs. 

“Myself  and  husband,”  she  said,  “know  all  about  this 
vicious  Herbert  and  the  evil  influence  he  has  over  our 
son,  but,”  and  Her  Imperial  Highness  lowered  her  voice, 
“ there  is  bound  to  be  a change  in  a few  years,  you  know, 
and  the  Kaiser  that  will  be  is  determined  to  clear  the  decks 
{reinen  Tisch  zu  machen)'' 

When  Victoria  said  this,  the  old  Emperor  was  nearly 
ninety  years  of  age,  and  though  the  first  signs  of  Freder- 
ick’s terrible  illness  had  already  manifested  themselves,  no 
one  dreamed  of  the  quick  and  awful  end.  However,  the 
sovereign  Lady  kept  her  word,  as  far  as  it  was  possible  for 
her  to  do  under  the  painful  circumstances  that  attended 
her  husband’s  reign,  and  no  matter  how  often  Prince  Bis- 
marck deputized  his  son  to  transact  business  with  Frederick 
during  the  ninety-nine  days,  he  was  as  often  sent  away  and 
ordered  to  tell  the  Chancellor  that  His  Majesty  desired  to 
confer  with  no  one  but  His  Grace  in  person. 

“It  is  the  death-knell  of  the  Bismarck  dynasty,”  Count 
Seckendorf  used  to  say  when  about  to  deliver  one  of  these 
messages  to  the  haughty  secretary. 

The  fall  of  the  Bismarcks  is  a matter  of  history,  but  that 
the  present  Empress  played  a decisive  part  in  it,  few,  if 
any,  writers  have  a notion  of.  It  is  true,  Auguste  Vic- 
toria dreaded  her  husband’s  parting  with  the  Prince,  but 
feared  even  more  the  constant  intimate  relations  between 
William  and  Herbert ; and  while  she  once  succeeded  in 
striking  his  name  from  the  list  of  guests  on  the  Northland 
trip,  giving  his  place  to  her  “uncle,”  Count  Waldersee, 


98 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


who  assiduously  worked  against  the  Iron  Chancellor’s  in- 
terests during  the  journey,  Count  Herbert  was  invited  to 
accompany  the  Kaiser  to  England  and  on  the  Oriental 
tour,  mainly,  it  was  rumored,  on  account  of  his  boast  that, 
as  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  he  would  find  ways  and 
means  to  open  the  doors  of  the  Sultan’s  harem  to  His 
Majesty. 

Whether  Herbert  made  such  insane  promises  I cannot 
say ; enough  that  my  mistress  believed  he  did,  and  per- 
suaded Countess  Waldersee  to  believe  it  also.  Her  Excel- 
lency, you  know,  is  a most  pious  woman,  and  Herbert  nec- 
essarily figured  in  her  inventory  of  proscribed  persons  with 
a big  ‘^H,”  as  Baron  vonMirbach  put  it.  (The  German 
word  for  Hades,  like  the  English,  commences  with  an  ‘^h.”) 

How  the  two  august  ladies  worked  for  the  downfall  of 
the  hated  man : a few  pin- thrusts  here,  an  allusion  to  the 
old  Chancellor’s  ambition  to  set  up  a throne  beside  the 
throne  there;  “Crown-Prince  Herbert,”  “Woman-beater 
Herbert,”  “Son  of  his  father,”  and  what  not?  And  in 
the  end:  “Down  goes  the  mantle,  and  the  Prince,  he 
follows.  ’ ’ 

Of  the  old  Chancellor,  guilty  of  two  unpardonable 
sins,  that  of  possessing  undoubted  popularity,  far  exceed- 
ing the  Emperor’s,  and  a hearty  disinclination  to  accom- 
modate himself,  after  years  of  supreme  rule,  to  the  part 
William  intended  for  him — of  this  “obstreperous  servant” 
the  Kaiser  had  been  tired  for  a long  time,  and  the  separa- 
tion enforced  in  March,  1890,  was  nothing  if  not  premedi- 
tated. Indeed,  the  Kaiser’s  inviolable  intention  to  dismiss 
the  “old  man,”  as  he  called  him,  was  expressed  as  far 
back  as  October,  1889,  the  repository  of  imperial  confi- 
dence at  that  time  being  no  other  than  Czar  Alexander. 

The  Czar  was  the  last  of  the  great  monarchs  to  repay 
the  Kaiser’s  visit,  and  was  frosty  and  ceremonious  in  the 


DROPPING  THE  PILOT 
(March  20,  1890) 
Punch’s  Famous  Cartoon 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


99 


extreme  upon  his  arrival, — a circumstance  which,  strange 
to  say,  filled  the  Empress  with  joy. 

“Thank  God,”  she  said  to  the  Countess  Brockdorff 
and  myself,  while  waiting  for  the  dinner  signal,  “if  the 
Czar’s  ill-humor  continues,  there  can  be  no  more  talk  of 
that  betrothal,”  meaning  the  contemplated  engagement 
between  the  Czarowitz  and  Her  Majesty’s  sister-in-law, 
Princess  Marguerite  of  Prussia. 

Well,  the  ill-humor  did  not  continue, — it  vanished  after 
the  Czar  had  had  a long  talk  with  Prince  Bismarck ; the 
Kaiser  was  pleased  outwardly,  but  extremely  mortified 
that  the  Chancellor,  not  himself,  had  brought  about  the 
change. 

“This  Bismarck  is  forever  assuming  his  sovereign’s 
functions,”  he  growled,  and,  in  order  to  have  Alexander’s 
ear  exclusively,  he  hurriedly  arranged  a hunting  expedition 
in  the  royal  forest  at  Eberswalde. 

On  this  occasion  the  pourparlers  about  the  betrothal 
were  renewed,  and — according  to  the  Empress,  who  was 
disturbed  at  the  prospect  of  losing  another  relative  in  the 
realms  of  the  Greek  Church — progressed  favorably  at  first, 
but,  unfortunately  for  his  own  great  designs  and  luckily  for 
the  Kaiserin’s  pious  scruples.  His  Majesty  could  not  con- 
strain himself  to  follow  up  his  success  by  the  premature 
announcement,  made  strictly  sub  rosdy  that  he  intended  to 
dismiss  Bismarck  at  an  early  opportunity. 

As  Alexander  could  see  only  the  forerunner  of  grave 
complications  in  such  a course,  our  northern  guest  grew 
visibly  cold  on  the  last  day  of  his  visit,  and  thereafter  con- 
fined himself  to  evasive  answers  when  the  betrothal  was 
mentioned. 

While  this  proves  beyond  doubt  that  the  parting  with 
the  Chancellor  was  long  premeditated,  I am  quite  sure, 
from  remarks  made  off  and  on  by  my  royal  mistress,  that 


lOO 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


the  Kaiser  had  no  notion  whatever  of  getting  rid  of  Count 
Herbert  too.  Only  the  gross  coercion  used  against  the  old 
man  ’ ’ on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  the  fact  that  Bis- 
marck, when  making  the  historic  appeal  to  the  Empress 
Frederick, — ‘‘his  last  stand,” — learned  that  the  petticoat 
camarilla  had  worked  against  his  son  as  diligently  as  the 
Kaiser’s  increasing  querulousness  and  thirst  for  independ- 
ence opposed  retention  of  office  by  himself, — this  aggra- 
vating circumstance  alone  forced  resignation  upon  the 
Count.  With  respect  to  the  meeting  in  the  old  Kron- 
prinzen- Palais  Unter  den  Linden^  I know  for  a certainty 
that  His  Majesty’s  mother,  when  refusing  to  interfere  on 
the  Chancellor’s  behalf,  spoke  unreservedly  of  the  evil 
influence  which  Herbert  had  exercised  upon  her  son,  and 
recited  how  much  the  Empress  had  suffered  by  it.  These 
facts,  Auguste  Victoria,  though  otherwise  not  given  to  adu- 
lation of  her  mother-in-law,  has  often  mentioned. 

After  that,  persons  of  delicacy  quickly  recognized  the 
only  course  left  open  to  Herbert ; but  the  Emperor,  swayed 
by  his  own  likes  and  dislikes  and  looking  neither  to  the 
right  nor  left,  gave  his  former  friend  an  opportunity  to 
insult  him. 

“And  what  will  you  do?”  he  asked  the  Secretary  of 
State. 

“ Follow  my  father,”  answered  Herbert,  with  fine  spirit. 

So  much  for  the  Herbert  Bismarck  intermezzo.  Lie- 
benau,  though  more  the  Kaiser’s  alter  ego  than  the  Count, 
was  never  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  William,  who  selected 
him  as  Major-domo,  when,  after  his  marriage,  the  princely 
household  was  established,  for  the  same  reason  that,  in 
1897,  prompted  his  nomination  of  a general  of  cavalry 
for  the  position  of  Reichs  Postmaster,  viz.  : because  he 
was  a good  driller,  a disciplinarian  of  the  sort  that  does 
his  master’s  bidding  without  the  slightest  thought  of  the 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


lOI 


feelings  of  others.  An  official  reputed  to  carry  out  orders 
unflinchingly  and,  if  need  be,  unscrupulously,  is  very  apt 
to  attract  a man  of  William’s  arbitrary  temperament. 

There  was  still  another  point  speaking  in  von  Lie- 
benau’s  favor.  At  the  time  William’s  household  was  estab- 
lished, His  Royal  Highness’s  income  was  a little  over 
^50,000  per  year,  a mere  bagatelle,  considering  the  pre- 
tensions of  both  master  and  mistress;  but  the  Court- 
marshal,  coming  from  a family  in  which  the  Prussian 
saying,  ‘‘Golden  collar — Stomach  hollow,”  has  had  prac- 
tical demonstration  through  generations  of  uniformed, 
spurred,  and  sabred  vaingloriousness  and  misery,  promised 
to  carry  on  the  stewardship  that  would  have  been  mori- 
bund in  most  other  hands,  to  a nicety, — promised  it,  and 
kept  his  promise.  He  did  more.  During  the  first  two  or 
three  years,  at  least,  he  managed  to  set  aside  for  the  per- 
sonal use  of  the  Prince  all  the  money  needed.  Later  on, 
debts  were  contracted;  they  were  not  of  Liebenau’s  making, 
though. 

But,  while  ingratiating  himself  with  William’s  household 
and,  in  fact,  with  the  entire  royal  family, — for  the  old  Em- 
peror, as  well  as  the  Crown  Prince  and  the  young  man’s 
uncles  and  aunts,  held  very  decided  opinions  on  the  subject 
of  His  Royal  Highness’s  money-spending  proclivities, — 
this  “mounted  beggar,”  as  the  late  Empress  Augusta  called 
him,  proclaimed  his  natural  inclination  for  the  noble  art 
of  browbeating  by  regulating  his  conduct  toward  the  house 
officials  and  servants  in  every  respect  after  his  master’s  ex- 
ample. As  stated,  he  was  not  a member  of  Prince  William’s 
inner  circle  of  friends;  but  His  Royal  Highness’s  intimacy 
with  Count  Herbert,  whose  sentiments  toward  women  were 
notorious,  sufficed  as  a cue  for  Liebenau’s  official  inter- 
course with  the  Princess.  Outwardly  loyalty  itself  (I 
doubt  whether  a more  loquacious  reciter  of  courtly  phrases 


102 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


and  of  assurances  of  respect  and  humility  ever  addressed 
a royal  lady  in  our  days),  nothing  seemed  to  give  this 
intriguer  more  satisfaction  than  to  refuse,  on  the  plea  of 
expenditure,  whatever  the  future  Empress  expressed  a wish 
for  in  the  way  of  food,  or  petty  luxury,  not  on  the  daily  list. 

“Think  of  it.  Countess,”  she  said  to  me  one  morning 
in  the  spring  of  1888,  “this  Liebenau  refused  me  a glass 
of  Madeira  for  second  breakfast,  claiming  his  budget 
would  not  permit  such  extravagance  when  we  are  alone, 
there  being  hardly  enough  to  set  the  table  as  it  ought  to 
be  set  when  the  Prince  himself  is  present. 

“‘My  appropriation  scarcely  warrants  the  purchase  of 
expensive  wines  for  His  Royal  Highness’s  own  consump- 
tion,’ he  had  the  impudence  to  tell  me.  I nearly  choked 
with  anger.” 

When  William  became  Crown  Prince,  Liebenau  retained 
his  position  at  the  head  of  the  largely  augmented  house- 
hold; but,  on  assuming  the  throne,  the  Kaiser  kept  him  on 
the  anxious  bench  many  weeks  before  the  rank  and  title  of 
Chief  Grand-marshal  of  the  Court  and  House  was  bestowed 
on  the  ex-captain  of  the  Body-guard  Battalion.  Yet,  no 
sooner  had  his  highest  ambition  been  realized,  then  Lie- 
benau began  to  outroyal  royalty.  He  established  a reign 
of  terror  at  the  palace,  as  William  had  done,  to  a cer- 
tain extent,  in  some  departments  of  government ; but, 
while  the  Kaiser  waited  until  May,  1891,  before  promul- 
gating his  boast  and  threat : “ There  is  but  one  master  in 
the  Reich, — none  other  will  I tolerate”  (in  the  speech 
before  the  Rhenish  Provincial  Diet),  Liebenau  at  once 
made  it  clear  to  everybody  in  the  imperial  household  that 
he  was  the  real  King’s  lieutenant,  vested  with  absolute 
power,  from  whose  decisions  no  appeal  could  be  had. 
And  that  was  not  idle  talk,  either,  for  in  domestic  affairs 
the  Kaiser  listened  to  no  one  but  him. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  IO3 

Thus,  with  a master  the  very  reverse  of  polite,  accessible, 
or  generous,  and  a submaster  trying  to  outdo  the  other  in 
arbitrariness  and  contemptuous  treatment  of  all  beneath 
him  in  rank  or  social  station,  our  Court  was  in  a wretched 
plight  during  the  time  from  August,  1889,  to  February, 
1890,  and  the  Empress’s  ladies  especially  suffered  from 
this  barrack  regime.  Our  private  apartments  in  the 
Schloss  at  that  time  left  much  to  wish  for,  as  indeed  they 
do  now ; but  whenever  Countess  von  Brockdorff,  or  any  of 
us,  ventured  to  suggest  the  slightest  improvement  to  the 
Court-marshal,  that  functionary  cut  short  our  complaints 
in  the  rudest  manner  possible.  And  not  only  that : even 
the  Empress’s  orders,  transmitted  by  one  of  us,  were 
treated  much  in  the  same  insolent  fashion,  so  that  the 
whole  Court,  our  august  mistress  with  the  rest,  was  kept 
in  a perpetual  turmoil.  Time  and  again  have  the  offended 
ladies  prepared  to  lay  their  cases  before  His  Majesty,  but 
Frau  von  Liebenau  appeared  as  often  bathed  in  tears  to 
implore  forgiveness  and  avert  a scandal.  This  woman, 
von  Maassen,  is  directly  descended  from  a Berlin  tailor’s 
family  of  Jewish  extraction  named  Freytag,  and  Madame 
was  as  unpopular  in  our  circles  as  her  husband,  but,  by 
studiously  humbling  herself,  always  carried  her  point. 

The  male  dignitaries  and  officials  of  the  imperial  house- 
hold fared  no  better  than  ourselves  under  the  King’s 
lieutenant,  and  disgraceful  rows  and  minor  disturbances 
were  of  almost  daily  occurrence  in  the  palace,  while  the 
servants,  besides  being  subjected  to  the  coarsest  treat- 
ment, had  to  endure  threats  of  corporal  punishment.  In- 
deed, if  Herr  von  Liebenau  had  been  trying,  in  a small, 
end-of-the-nineteenth-century  way  to  revive  memories  of 
the  days  of  Frederick  William  I,  “whom  it  is  a flattering 
euphemism  to  call  a savage,”  he  could  not  have  gone 
about  it  in  a more  thorough  manner. 


104 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


These  browbeatings  and  bullyings  continued  uninter- 
rupted and  unpunished  until  February,  1890,  when  the 
omnipotent  Pooh-Bah  happened  to  run  amuck  of  General 
von  Wittich,  at  that  time  chief  of  royal  head-quarters, 
who,  being  offered  insolence,  threw  down  his  gloves,  and, 
shaking  his  fist  in  the  Court-marshal’s  face,  cried:  “If 
you  were  not  so  far  beneath  me,  I would  challenge  you.” 

Von  Wittich  immediately  reported  the  incident  to  the 
Emperor,  and  His  Majesty,  who  was  unwilling  to  lose  the 
General,  concluded  that  Liebenau  needed  some  of  his  own 
medicine.  So  he  sent  for  him. 

“ I will  assume  that  your  quarrelsomeness  is  the  outcome 
of  overwork  and  nervous  excitement,”  he  said,  forestall- 
ing explanations;  “you  will  leave  this  evening  for  a six 
weeks’  holiday.”  Then  he  turned  on  his  heel,  while  the 
Court-marshal,  half  dazed,  bowed  himself  out. 

“Liebenau  disgraced, — Prince  Radolin  his  successor,” — 
the  news  spread  through  the  house  like  wild-fire,  and  was 
discussed  in  Her  Majesty’s  chambers  no  less  eagerly  than 
in  the  corridors  and  kitchen;  maids  congratulated  the 
Hofdamen,  and  the  imperial  adjutants,  the  flunkies;  even 
in  the  circles  of  the  Court  society  the  event  was  con- 
sidered important  enough  for  general  rejoicings. 

But  six  weeks  do  not  last  an  eternity,  and  at  the  end  of 
his  vacation  Liebenau  seemed  to  be  as  much  of  a favorite 
as  ever.  In  fact,  the  Emperor  appeared  to  welcome  back 
with  much  satisfaction  his  double,  from  whose  resemblance 
to  his  own  self  he  had  recoiled  in  a moment  of  anger. 
This  Court-marshal,  who  understood  how  to  keep  a numer- 
ous retinue  in  utter  subjection,  and,  moreover,  was  capable 
of  enforcing  savings  where  an  official  reared  in  a more 
opulent  sphere  would  fain  insist  upon  greater  liberality, 
“was  really  a very  useful  person,  whose  zeal  deserved 
recognition,” — these  were  the  Kaiser’s  own  words  to 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  I05 

Prince  Radolin  when  the  latter  took  his  leave.  What  a 
triumph  for  Liebenau,  upon  whom  we  had  begun  to  look 
as  an  officially  dead  man  ! 

And  as  if  the  reinstated  one  meant  to  make  up  for  lost 
time,  the  disgraceful  wrangles  of  the  past  year  were  re- 
newed the  moment  he  showed  his  face  again ; mess-room 
jargon  and  curses  once  more  superseded  the  conciliating 
tone  brought  back  by  Prince  Radolin,  and  never  was  penny- 
pinching  carried  further  at  this  outwardly  so  gorgeous  royal 
establishment  than  after  the  renaissance  of  the  Liebenau 
regime.  The  Court-marshal  even  went  so  far  as  to  reduce 
the  number  of  servants,  and  lay  the  work  of  the  discharged 
men  and  women  upon  the  shoulders  of  those  remaining. 
William  approved  of  this  and  similar  measures  en  bloc. 
And  small  wonder.  His  lieutenant  was  held  in  such 
abject  fear  that  no  one  dared  complain,  and  the  money 
saved  by  Liebenau’ s skinflint  system  was  three  times  wel- 
come to  swell  the  travel,  building,  and  amusement  funds. 

So  thick  became  the  new  friendship  between  Emperor 
and  Court-marshal  that  the  latter  had  the  effrontery  to  ask 
that  the  next  vacant  ambassadorship  be  reserved  for  him. 

The  Kaiser  did  not  promise  to  consider  the  petition 
(just  then  ‘‘the  old  man — Bismarck — was  having  his  last 
breathing-spell;”  Ich  will  den  Allen  verschnaufen  lassen 
was  one  of  His  Majesty’s  quaint  sayings  at  that  time 
when  his  attention  was  called  to  the  Chancellor’s  oppo- 
sition to  his  own  absolute  plans);  but  the  fact  that  Wil- 
liam failed  to  refuse  indignantly  to  listen  to  the  plan  of 
his  steward  sufficed  to  inspire  the  supplicant  with  insane 
notions  of  greatness.  Though  himself  belonging  to  the 
lower  nobility,  separated  from  bourgeoisdom  but  by  the 
three  letters  “von,”  he  began  to  exhibit  more  than  ever 
his  unlimited  contempt  for  the  masses.  And  that  broke 
his  official  neck. 


io6 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


It  appears  that  about  the  middle  of  May,  1890,  the 
citizens  of  the  town  of  Elbing,  in  West  Prussia,  learning 
that,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  month,  the  Emperor 
intended  to  visit  his  friend,  Count  Dohna,  in  near-by 
Proeckelwitz,  notified  the  Court-marshal’s  office  of  their 
intention  to  give  His  Majesty  a big  ovation  when  he  passed 
through  the  town.  The  station  was  to  be  decorated  with 
flags  and  bunting  and  greens,  work  was  to  be  suspended, 
and  the  school-children  and  societies,  not  to  mention  the 
rest  of  the  burghers  who  had  escaped  either  dilemma, 
were  to  parade  before  His  Majesty,  dressed  in  their  best, 
and  singing  Heil  Dir  im  Siegerkranz.'" 

^‘Elbing,”  mused  Liebenau, — “is  not  that  the  place 
where  the  great  ship-yards  are  located?”  He  looked  up 
the  social  record  of  the  town  in  his  blue-book,  and  found 
none:  “Nothing  but  laborers  and  shop-keepers,  probably 
socialists  most  of  them.”  He  ordered  his  secretary  to 
throw  the  petition  into  the  waste-basket,  and  thought  no 
more  of  it. 

The  Elbingers,  on  their  part,  when  they  received  no 
reply,  thought  their  loyal  proposition  accepted  as  a matter 
of  course,  and  so  entered  upon  extensive  arrangements  of 
decoration,  the  whole  town  working  enthusiastically  to 
make  a splendid  showing  on  the  day  of  days. 

At  last,  on  May  27,  toward  5 p.m.,  the  imperial  saloon- 
train  hove  into  sight  near  Elbing  depot.  Upon  this  signal, 
all  the  town  and  church  bells  set  to  ringing,  while  the 
factory  whistles  blew  their  hardest,  and  the  assembled 
masses,  nearly  ten  thousand  men,  women,  and  children, 
began  to  shout,  waving  handkerchiefs  and  flags.  The  town 
band,  too,  brayed  its  finest,  and  a chorus  of  singing  socie- 
ties vociferated  the  German  equivalent  for  “God  Save  the 
Queen”  at  the  top  of  their  voices.  Finally,  a bevy  of 
blonde-haired  and  white-robed  maidens,  “masquerading 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


107 


as  virgins,”  as  a Berlin  localism  has  it,  stood  ready  with 
half-faded  bunches  of  flowers,  repeating  to  themselves 
the  words  of  welcome  they  had  learned  with  so  much 
difficulty. 

But  imagine  their  mortification,  the  disgust  and  rage  of 
these  thousands,  many  of  whom  had  carefully  weaned 
themselves  from  their  democratic  principles  for  this  one 
occasion, — picture  their  perplexed  looks,  if  you  can,  when 
the  train,  without  lessening  its  speed,  dashed  through  the 
multitudes  lining  the  rails  on  both  sides  and  disappeared 
in  a cloud  of  dust  and  smoke  even  before  the  first  verse  of 
the  national  anthem  was  half  finished. 

However,  the  Elbingers’  surprise  was  no  greater  than  that 
of  the  man  whom  they  had  intended  to  honor.  William 
was  standing  at  one  of  the  windows  of  his  carriage,  and 
had  taken  in  the  festive  preparations  at  a glance. 

Schutzenfesty  I suppose?”  said  the  Kaiser,  turning  to 
his  suite. 

‘‘Beg  Your  Majesty’s  pardon,  it  looked  more  like  a 
prearranged  ovation  in  honor  of  your  coming,”  replied 
one  adjutant. 

“I  think  I saw  a triumphal  arch  bearing  the  all-highest’s 
initials,”  said  another. 

The  words  set  William  thinking,  and,  upon  his  arrival 
at  Proeckelwitz,  he  asked  at  once:  “What  v/as  the  occa- 
sion of  the  festive  appearance  of  Elbing  ? The  whole  town 
seemed  to  be  on  its  legs.” 

“Has  not  Your  Majesty  stopped  to  receive  the  homage 
of  those  sturdy  workmen?” 

“No,  I had  no  idea  that  anything  of  the  kind  was 
intended.” 

“But  the  Court-marshal’s  office  was  notified  in  due 
form,  and  preparations  have  been  going  on  these  two 
weeks,”  said  Count  Dohna. 


I08  PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 

Of  course,  His  Majesty  was  furious.  Never  was  monarch 
so  hungry  for  popular  applause  as  William  during  the  first 
two  or  three  months  after  Bismarck’s  dismissal.  Ever 
since  the  old  Chancellor  had  thundered  his  proud  *^We 
will  meet  again!”  into  the  teeth  of  imperial  disgrace, 
William  had  flitted  from  banquet  to  review,  to  festivities 
at  the  opening  or  closing  of  schools,  to  laying  of  corner- 
stones, launching  of  yachts  and  steamers;  he  had  paid 
court  to  all  princes  suspected  of  Bismarckian  sympathies, 
had  made  conciliatory  addresses  to  the  Reichstag,  had 
appealed  for  friendly  support  in  Konigsberg,  and  had 
even  gone  out  of  his  way  to  honor  his  well-hated  grand- 
mother by  a special  state  dinner  on  the  occasion  of  her 
birthday ; in  short,  he  had  done  everything  in  his  power  to 
dissuade  the  German  people  from  too  much  Bismarck  dis- 
cussion and  to  gain  adherents  to  the  imperial  cause.  And 
here  was  this  Liebenau,  a man  whom  he  had  raised  to 
affluence  and  power,  deliberately  robbing  him  of  the  sweet 
concert  of  loyal  approbation  and  setting  a whole  town, 
filled  to  overflowing  with  democratic  ideas,  by  the  ears. 

An  angry  telegram  to  Berlin  demanded  an  immediate 
explanation,  while,  at  the  same  time,  a very  gracious  mes- 
sage was  sent  to  Elbing,  explaining  the  situation  and  stat- 
ing that  His  Majesty  would  be  pleased  to  stop  at  the  town 
upon  his  return  from  Count  Dohna’s  place  in  a few  days. 
Late  in  the  evening,  Liebenau’s  answer  came.  It  was  a 
hotchpotch  of  generalities,  tempered  by  an  implied  charge 
of  neglect  against  some  unknown  secretary.  His  Majesty 
needed  but  to  mention  this  to  loosen  a veritable  whirlwind 
of  accusations  against  the  doomed  man.  Count  Dohna,  who 
had  never  liked  Liebenau,  himself  leading  the  assault. 

Two  days  later,  on  May  30,  at  9 a. m.,  I was  sitting  in 
the  royal  waiting-room  of  Friedrich  Strasse  railway  depot, 
in  Berlin,  whither  my  mistress  had  sent  me  to  notify  the 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


109 


Kaiser,  upon  his  arrival,  of  some  domestic  arrangement. 
It  was  the  day  of  the  great  spring  parade,  and  His  Majesty 
was  billed  to  drive  directly  to  the  grounds  where  horses 
for  himself  and  suite  were  waiting.  At  the  door  of  the 
apartment,  faultlessly  dressed,  the  monocle  in  his  left  eye 
and  the  inevitable  silk  hat  in  hand,  stood  Herr  von  Liebe- 
nau,  all  smiles  for  the  master,  who  arrived  punctually,  and, 
having  alighted,  crossed  the  perron,  looking  neither  to  the 
right  nor  left. 

“A  word  with  you,”  I heard  him  say  to  the  Grand- 
marshal,  without  lessening  his  pace.  “ Herr  von  Liebenau” 
(His  Majesty’s  accentuation  was  remarkably  clear  and  icy 
that  morning), — Herr  von  Liebenau,”  he  repeated,  ^Hhis 
affair  of  Elbing  has  opened  my  eyes  to  your  character  and 
capabilities.  I must  tell  you  that  I have  no  use  for  a per- 
son who  sets  my  people  against  the  sovereign.  You  have 
antagonized  the  whole  Court  and  aristocracy  besides.  You 
are  dismissed.” 

The  Emperor  had  meanwhile  reached  the  door  leading 
into  the  street,  which  was  quickly  opened  by  the  chasseur 
on  the  other  side,  and,  followed  by  his  adjutants,  he  strode 
out  before  I had  a chance  to  deliver  my  message,  or  Lie- 
benau found  opportunity  for  explanations.  When  the  last 
of  the  suite  had  vanished  with  clank  of  sabres  and  spurs 
(like  their  master,  all  were  in  full  gala),  I was  face  to  face 
with  the  disgraced  man. 

Roared  at  and  kicked  out  like  a drayman  ! — you  have 
heard  it.  Countess,”  is  all  he  said.  Then  he  got  into  his 
splendid  carriage  to  report  to  the  master  of  ceremonies  that 
he  would  not  preside  at  the  great  functions  of  the  state 
dinner  to  be  held  the  same  day  at  five  o’clock  in  the  after- 
noon. 

The  palace  officials  and  servants  celebrated  Liebenau’s 
dismissal  by  a banquet  and  ^^Kneipe,"  but  William,  after 


no 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


his  first  anger  had  subsided,  seemed  to  feel  a sneaking  pity 
for  him.  Perhaps  that,  reviewing  Liebenau’s  weaknesses  and 
blunders,  he  recognized  in  them  the  reflection  of  his  own 
personality.  The  order  of  dismissal  was  irrevocable,  but 
exile  might  be  lightened  by  an  act  of  courtesy  or  two,  and 
a generous  provision  for  the  future.  So  His  Majesty  sent 
word  to  Liebenau  that  he  need  not  be  in  a hurry  to  vacate 
his  quarters  in  Sans  Souci  Park,  and  that  his  allowance  of 
horses  and  servants,  as  well  as  his  salary,  would  continue. 
Master  and  ex-servant  met  once  more  before  parting,  just 
previous  to  William’s  Northland  trip  at  the  end  of  June. 
The  audience  lasted  two  minutes. 

In  the  following  October  we  were  surprised  to  find  Herr 
and  Frau  von  Liebenau’s  cards,  marked  ^‘P.  P.  C.,”  in 
our  morning  mail,  and  everybody  breathed  freer.  Only 
the  Empress  had  a bad  half-hour  reading  an  impertinent 
letter  “the  tailor’s  daughter”  sent  to  her,  probably  in 
acknowledgment  of  the  many  acts  of  magnanimity  that 
Her  Majesty  had  shown  this  woman.  At  the  same  time,  it 
became  known  that  Liebenau  was  to  retain  his  salary  of 
thirty  thousand  marks  per  year  for  life. 

When  the  imperial  couple  visited  Wiesbaden  in  the  fall 
of  1896,  the  ex-favorite  was  once  more  graciously  received, 
and  even  Her  Majesty  had  to  smile  upon  him  and  his  wife, 
though  I know  it  cost  her  pride  a severe  shock. 

Although  the  regime  of  the  alter  ego  came  to  an  end 
half  a dozen  years  ago,  his  influence  is  still  felt  at  Court 
and  even  in  the  affairs  of  state,  and  if,  sooner  or  later, 
judgment  must  be  passed  on  the  Kaiser’s  mental  condition, 
the  Liebenau  bacillus  deserves  special  investigation.  It  was 
Liebenau’s  reckless  hard  taskmastery  which  nourished  and 
upheld  the  Kaiser’s  notion  that  he  can  make  the  impossible 
possible,  that  his  word  suffices  to  put  seven-league  irons  on 
a tired  horse  and  double  and  treble  his  people’s  capacity 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


III 


for  work.  Another  imperial  idiosyncrasy,  stimulated  by  Lie- 
benau,  was  William’s  passion  for  travel,  that  guaranteed  the 
Chief  Court-marshal  either  considerable  perquisites  when 
accompanying  His  Majesty,  or,  if  left  behind,  untrammelled 
dominion  at  home.  I happen  to  have  kept  a record  of  the 
Kaiser’s  jaunts  under  the  Liebenau  administration,  and  in 
the  following  give  a list  of  the  official  visits  paid  by  His 
Majesty  from  August,  1888,  to  May,  1890,  leaving  out 
hunting-trips  and  others  of  a private  character. 

William  went  to  Stockholm  and  Copenhagen,  Frankfurt, 
Stuttgart,  Munich,  Vienna,  Rome,  Hamburg,  Leipzig, 
Breslau,  Stettin,  Biickeburg,  Oldenburg,  Wilhelmshafen, 
Schwedt,  Weimar,  Brunswick,  Dresden,  Osborne,  San- 
down  Bay,  Aldershot,  Carlsruhe,  Strassburg,  Metz,  Miins- 
ter,  Minden,  Hannover,  Schwerin,  Athens,  Dessau,  Darm- 
stadt, Worms,  Bremen,  Frankfurt-on-the-Main,  Altenburg, 
Konigsberg,  altogether  stopping  and  holding  Court  in 
thirty-seven  different  cities  and  towns  in  Germany  and 
abroad,  many  of  which  were  visited  three  or  four  times, 
and  all  within  the  short  space  of  a year  and  ten  months. 

To  find  excuses  for  this  almost  perpetual  absence  from 
the  seat  of  government  (Count  Shuvaloff,  at  that  time 
Russian  Ambassador  in  Berlin,  told  me  the  Czar — Alexan- 
der HI — used  to  say  there  was  only  one  similar  case  in 
history,  that  of  Charles  XII,  “the  Madman  of  the 
North;”  continuing:  “Wait  a while,  and,  like  Charles, 
he  will  some  day  send  his  boot  to  preside  at  the  state 
council!”  which  was  not  half  bad  for  an  autocrat) — to 
quiet  public  opinion  on  the  score  of  these  incessant  junk- 
etings, all  sorts  of  excuses  are  invented  by  William  and 
his  suite,  as  once  before  mentioned;  he  goes  away  “to 
take  a bird’s-eye  view  of  politics,  and  to  come  back  un- 
biased by  partisan  preferences;  ” if  he  neglects  to  look  up 
the  King  of  the  Belgians,  “our  African  possessions  may 


II2 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


be  wiped  out  ’ ’ even  quicker  than  Eugene  Richter  wishes 
it ; a month’s  sea-voyage  affords  the  Kaiser  a much- wanted 
^^opportunity  for  studying  his  inner  man,”  and  who  would 
deny  the  necessity  of  such  an  undertaking  ? 

But  the  real  motive  that  prompts  these  journeys  is  the 
morbid  restlessness  of  which  the  Kaiser  is  possessed,  and 
that  scourges  him,  a crowned  Ahasuerus,  from  town  to  city, 
over  seas  and  mountains. 

The  Kaiser’s  adjutants,  military  and  civil  secretaries,  or 
representatives  of  the  various  cabinets,  body-physicians, 
valets,  wardrobemen,  keeper  of  the  silverware,  cellarer, 
master  of  the  horse,  coachmen,  grooms,  mouth-cooks, 
kitchen  employees,  and  the  host  of  chasseurs  and  flunkies 
who  accompany  him  on  each  trip,  are  so  well  trained  in 
handling  the  endless  accessories  and  baggage,  that  an  order 
to  get  ready  at  an  hour’s  notice  neither  surprises  nor  rattles 
them.  If  the  tour  or  outing  on  which  they  are  about  to 
enter  has  been  under  consideration  for  some  time,  a printed 
itinerary  is  furnished  to  the  chief  of  each  department,  but 
quite  frequently  not  one  of  the  men  is  able  to  learn  anything 
beyond  the  hour  of  departure. 

The  Kaiser,  you  know,  addresses  his  attendants  only  in 
monosyllables,  and  does  not  even  take  the  trouble  to  speak 
distinctly.  To  ask  repetition  of  a sentence,  or  to  put  any 
question  whatever,  would  be  an  unheard-of  breach  of 
etiquette,  so  there  remains  nothing  to  do  but  to  take 
chances  and  work  ahead  in  the  dark,  the  more  so,  as  the 
adjutants  often  know  no  more  of  His  Majesty’s  intentions 
than  the  small  stable-boys  who  go  with  every  imperial 
party  to  assist  at  tennis. 

Especial  secrecy  is  observed  if  the  destination  is  some 
town  or  fortress  in  the  far  west  or  east  of  the  Empire, 
where,  after  a night  of  travel,  the  war-lord  intends  to 
mount  at  five  or  six  o’clock  in  the  morning,  and,  attended 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  II3 

by  trumpeters  and  a formidable  suite,  ride  through  the 
streets  alarming  the  garrison.  If  the  wardrobe-master  on 
duty  suspects  that  the  journey  is  on  an  errand  of  that  kind, 
he  exhausts  every  possible  means  of  solving  the  mystery, 
and  more  than  once  have  I aided  the  poor  fellow  by  trying 
to  learn  from  the  Empress  what  was  wanted.  Sometimes, 
though,  even  Her  Majesty  is  kept  in  ignorance. 

The  wardrobeman’s  anxiety  will  be  better  understood 
when  I mention  that  William  makes  it  a rule  to  always 
wear  the  uniform  of  the  principal  regiment  garrisoned  in 
the  place  visited ; the  attendant  unable  to  draw  from  among 
the  baggage  the  military  dress  desired  would  quickly  find 
himself  dropped  from  the  salary  list. 

When,  in  addition,  it  is  stated  that  a cavalry  uniform, 
for  instance,  consists  of  fourteen  distinct  parts,  the  reader 
may  gain  an  idea  of  the  work  involved  by  these  sudden 
journeys,  for  one  uniform  would  of  course  not  do;  there 
must  be  three  or  four  in  reserve,  and  also  civilian  and 
hunting  dress. 

In  a similar  predicament  to  the  wardrobeman  is  the 
stable-master.  Will  an  infantry,  cavalry,  or  artillery  horse 
be  wanted?  for  His  Majesty  rides  a different  breed  of 
animal  with  each  body  of  troops.  Every  time  information 
is  withheld  in  the  manner  described,  six  horses,  two  of 
each  kind,  must  be  taken  along  for  His  Majesty,  besides 
consignments  of  carriage -horses  and  vehicles  and  numer- 
ous mounts  for  the  suite,  all  of  which  increases  the  cost  of 
railway  journeying  enormously,  for,  though  most  of  the 
German  railways  are  property  of  the  state,  the  Kaiser  has 
to  pay  mileage  like  any  other  individual. 

The  imperial  train  generally  pulls  out  of  the  station  at 
ten  o’clock  at  night,  as  the  Kaiser  never  allows  business  to 
interfere  with  his  own  convenience,  and  if,  for  some  reason 
or  other,  he  wants  to  rise  earlier  than  usual,  he  retires  soon 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


II4 

after  supper  to  make  up  for  time  that  will  be  lost.  Further- 
more, the  train  must  proceed  at  the  slowest  possible  rate,  so 
that  the  all-highest’s  sleep  be  not  disturbed. 

That  the  saloon-train  is  furnished  with  all  the  luxuries 
imaginable — a rolling  palace  containing  reception,  dining, 
bed,  bath  and  toilet  rooms,  kitchen,  scullery,  and  stables — 
need  hardly  be  explained;  the  only  things  lacking  are 
accommodations  for  the  servants,  who,  valet  and  hostler 
alike,  must  sleep  in  chairs  or  on  the  floor. 

At  five  o’clock,  or  earlier,  a cup  of  tea  is  served  to  the 
monarch,  the  bath  and  toilet  follow,  and  then  breakfast, 
which  latter  is  served  with  much  more  state  and  with  a 
greater  variety  of  food  than  at  home.  So  fortified  and 
refreshed,  the  Kaiser  and  his  paladins  mount  at  dawn, 
and,  preceded  by  buglers,  gallop  into  the  city  “to  kill  the 
soldiers’  and,  incidentally,  the  citizens’  morning  sleep.” 

One  of  the  imperial  adjutants,  whom  I dare  not  name, 
as  it  would  ruin  this  gentleman’s  chances  of  advancement, 
describes  the  mode  of  procedure  at  the  alarming  of  the 
garrison  of  the  fortress  of  Posen  as  follows : 

“ During  breakfast,  and  on  our  ride  to  the  inner  town. 
His  Majesty  talked  of  nothing  but  of  the  ‘ stupid  faces  ’ 
the  commander  and  officers,  suddenly  roused  from  sleep, 
would  make,  and  drew  some  rather  risque  pictures  of  the 
consternation  and  discomforts  bound  to  follow  the  signals, 
so  that  one  of  our  party  remarked : ‘ These  provincial 
petticoats  will  not  thank  Your  Majesty  for  making  war  on 
them.’ 

“‘Pshaw!’  said  the  Kaiser,  ‘what  matters  that?  The 
devotion  of  my  brave  blue  jackets,  some  of  whom  I will 
aid  to  escape  without  paying  their  bills,  will  recompense 
me  for  any  loss  of  admiration  in  those  quarters.’ 

“By  this  time  we  had  been  admitted,  after  giving 
the  parole  of  the  day,”  continued  my  informant,  “and 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  II5 

presently  our  trumpeters’  blasts  and  the  sharp  clang  of  our 
horses’  hoofs  resounded  in  the  main  street.  Posen,  though 
only  half  Polish,  has  seen  so  many  sieges,  insurrections, 
and  kindred  revolutionary  doings,  that  warlike  activity  has 
no  terror  for  her  citizens ; a coup  de  main  in  broad  daylight 
would  no  more  disconcert  them,  I believe,  than  a good- 
sized  shower.  Windows  were  opened  and  shut  as  we  can- 
tered along,  men,  women,  and  children  in  night-dresses 
casting  hasty  glances  at  the  strange  cavalcade  through  half- 
raised  Venetian  blinds.  Now  and  again  a military  person, 
semi-dressed,  or  semi-naked  if  you  will,  drew  himself  up 
into  regulation  attitude,  hand  raised  to  the  side  of  his 
head;  one  might  imagine  hearing  his  naked  heels  strike 
together.  Proceeding  at  a rapid  rate,  we  encountered  sev- 
eral small  troops  of  soldiers  bound  for  the  drill-grounds; 
but  the  Kaiser  ordered  them  to  fall  behind,  while  their  offi- 
cers gave  the  report  to  the  adjutants.  On  Wilhelm  Platz 
the  Emperor  had  the  satisfaction  of  stopping  two  cavalry 
horses  which,  while  being  saddled,  heard  the  signal  and 
ran  off  to  take  their  places  in  array ; altogether  we  made 
an  awful  lot  of  noise  and  provoked  more. 

“ Meanwhile,  we  had  reached  the  principal  hotel,  and 
there,  at  one  of  the  upper  windows,  was  a well-known  face, 
adorned  by  fierce  blonde  mustachios,  peeping  out  between 
two  lithe  figures  in  white, — the  one  a popular  coryphee  of 
the  Berlin  Royal  Opera  House,  the  other  the  ingenue  of  the 
theatre  on  Gendarmen  Markt. 

“ ‘What  do  I see?’  cried  the  Emperor.  ‘This  looks  as 
if  my  ballet  and  players  had  preceded  us  to  Posen.’ 

“ ‘It  is  the  first  instance  that  these  two  branches  of  art 
appear  on  terms  of  camaraderie  ' remarked  Adjutant  von 
Moltke,  and  everybody  laughed. 

“The  surprised  Adonis,  Baron  von  X , Rittmeister 

of  the  Body  Hussars,  was  invited  to  the  Emperor’s  circle 


Il6  PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 

at  the  banquet  in  the  officers’  mess  that  followed  the 
parade,  and  His  Majesty  amused  himself  royally  at  his 
expense,  as,  indeed,  he  treated  the  whole  expedition  as  a 
huge  joke,  arranged  to  afford  him  a novel  entertainment.” 

Travelling  is  such  a mania  with  the  Reise-Kaiser,  that, 
when  business  of  state  or  the  fact  that  there  is  nobody  or 
nothing  to  visit  forbids  his  going  abroad,  he  occasionally 
spends  a night  in  his  railway  carriage,  stalled  at  Wildpark 
Station,  only  five  minutes  from  the  Neues  Palais,  on  the 
plea  that  on  the  following  morning  he  must  be  in  Berlin  at 
some  unearthly  hour. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  summer  of  1895,  he  indulged  in 
this  queer  pastime  with  increasing  regularity  until  one 
night  in  June,  when,  about  to  drive  to  the  station  from 
some  festivity  held  at  the  Marble  Palace,  the  Kaiserin  took 
courage  to  threaten  an  invasion  of  his  bachelor  quarters, 
which,  she  insisted,  must  possess  some  special  attraction. 
As  Her  Majesty  was  not  quite  wrong  in  this,  William  de- 
sisted from  following  his  inclination  then  and  for  several 
months,  his  compliance  being  all  the  more  ready  as  the 
Empress  was  in  an  interesting  condition.  But  Her 
Majesty’s  interference  was  not  only  justified,  it  was  like- 
wise well-timed,  for  just  then  there  was  under  way  a 
formidable  conspiracy  among  the  royal  servants,  who, 
underpaid  as  they  are  and  nourishing  a sneaking  spirit 
of  insurrection,  had  conspired  among  themselves  to  in- 
form some  member  of  the  opposition  (with  a view  of 
interpellating  the  Minister  of  Railways  in  the  Reichstag) 
of  the  fact  that  His  Majesty  was  in  the  habit  of  using 
a public  depot  for  his  sleeping  apartment.  In  that  way 
they  expected  to  get  even  with  William  for  compelling 
them  to  spend  so  many  nights  in  their  clothes.  Of 
course,  the  legislative  body  has  no  business  to  inquire  into 
the  sovereign’s  manner  of  spending  his  nights,  but  the 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  II7 

public  was  doubtless  very  much  interested  in  the  accom- 
panying circumstance  that,  when  His  Majesty  chooses  to 
repose  at  Wildpark  Station,  traffic  is  seriously  interfered 
with  in  order  that  the  mighty  one’s  sleep  be  not  disturbed. 

‘‘Over  a hundred  officials  and  workmen  stay  awake  to- 
night to  facilitate  the  Kaiser’s  fad  for  occupying  his  car,” 
said  Count  Eulenburg  to  me  one  evening,  at  the  end  of 
May,  when  the  Kaiser  was  setting  out  for  his  wheeled 
boudoir. 

“ Impossible  ! — a hundred  persons  ?” 

“A  hundred  or  more, — the  lists  have  gone  through  my 
hands.  Reflect  a moment  on  the  work  involved  : Freight- 
trains  must  be  side-tracked,  and  passenger-trains  are  com- 
pelled to  reduce  their  speed,  while  the  ordinary  signals, 
steam-whistling  and  ringing  of  bells,  have  to  be  aban- 
doned, and  the  number  of  employees  doubled,  to  forestall 
mishaps.  ’ ’ 

If  disgruntled  servants  had  told  this  story  to  Liebknecht 
or  Bebel,  the  inevitable  discussion  might  have  seriously 
interfered  with  His  Majesty’s  enjoyment  of  the  Wilhelm 
Canal  opening  festivities  then  about  to  take  place. 


CHAPTER  VI 


William  stays  at  home  when  there  is  no  one  to  visit,  I 
said  in  the  preceding  chapter,  and  I may  add  that  willing 
victims  of  imperial  travelmania  grow  scarcer  year  by  year. 
How  well  I remember  the  Kaiser’s  return  from  his  first 
Northland  trip  in  the  summer  of  1888,  when  he  spoke  most 
exultingly  of  his  visit  to  Copenhagen,  and  how  he  had 
succeeded  in  wheedling  King  Christian  and  Queen  Louise. 

“They  can  be  of  great  service  to  me  with  Alexander” 
(the  Czar),  he  said,  “and  I promised  to  stay  with  them  a 
couple  of  days  every  year  on  my  way  to  or  from  North- 
land.” 

All  of  us  around  the  royal  board,  officials  and  guests, 
looked  at  one  another  in  astonishment,  for  the  poverty  of 
the  reigning  family  of  Denmark  is  notorious.  Indeed, 
almost  everybody  at  Court  had  heard  the  Kaiser,  at  one 
time  or  another,  quote  Field-marshal  Count  Moltke’s 
observation  in  one  of  his  famous  letters  to  his  brother 
Adolph : 

“ Poor  King  of  Denmark  ! The  founder  of  a new  dy- 
nasty, he  began  his  reign  by  losing  one-half  of  the  realm  ! 
Sweeping  reductions  were  inevitable  in  the  Court  and 
administration ; indeed,  it  is  doubtful  if  this  state  can 
continue  to  exist  as  an  independent  kingdom.” 

Besides,  it  was  an  open  secret  that  the  Czar,  when  visit- 
ing his  father-in-law,  paid  for  his  accommodation  like  the 
millionaire  he  was, — for  his  and  for  that  of  all  his  relatives 

119 


120 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


making  Denmark  their  summer  home  and  rejoicing  in  the 
annual  family  reunions.  The  Kaiser  knew  that ; he  had 
even  obtained  a corroboration  of  the  story  in  Stockholm, 
as  it  turned  out  by  and  by;  was  he,  then,  determined  to 
become  one  of  the  Czar’s  pensioners,  or  did  he  not  care 
whether  he  embarrassed  his  venerable  brother  of  Denmark, 
half  of  whose  inheritance  Prussia  swallowed  up  ? 

Reference  to  the  minutes  of  the  journey  reveal  the  fact 
that  at  the  state  dinner  in  Castle  Amalienborg,  the  Kaiser, 
answering  King  Christian’s  toast,  literally  said:  “I  sub- 
mit my  sincerest  thanks  for  Your  Majesty’s  welcome, 
and  hope  that  I may  be  permitted  to  visit  Your  Majesty 
frequently  in  the  same  way.” 

It  was  the  last  toast  spoken  that  evening,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Kaiser’s  suite  do  not  know  whether  the  implied 
question  was  honored  by  an  invitation  in  private.  Certain 
it  is,  however,  that  His  Majesty  had  no  further  occasion 
“to  eat  the  Danes  out  of  house  and  home,”  for,  although 
the  Court  of  Copenhagen  was  annually  advised  of  His 
Majesty’s  contemplated  northern  trips,  it  always  acknowl- 
edged the  notification  in  such  cold  terms  that  any  wish  to 
follow  it  up  by  a promise  to  call  and  take  pot-luck  was 
eo  ipso  forestalled. 

My  mistress,  in  whose  circle  the  Fredensborg  family  re- 
unions were  repeatedly  discussed,  explained  her  husband’s 
continued  neglect  to  join  them  by  saying  that  the  increas- 
ing volume  of  business  made  it  necessary  for  His  Majesty 
to  pass  by  Copenhagen ; but  I have  it  on  the  authority 
of  a high  official  in  the  Russian  Embassy  during  Count 
Shuvaloff’s  administration,  that  Czar  Alexander  distinctly 
refused  to  be  disturbed  in  his  retreat  by  “that  young 
man,”  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  Danish  Minister  in 
Berlin  hinted  that  Queen  Louise  was  not  well  enough  to 
stand  the  excitement  of  such  visits,  that  brought  back  to 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


I2I 


her  all  she  had  suffered  since  the  events  of  1864.  But 
that  economical  questions  have  something  to  do  with  it  as 
well  as  politics,  cannot  be  denied.  The  Emperor’s  suite, 
you  must  know,  is  seldom  less  than  sixty  head  strong,  even 
when  he  travels  in  semi-state.  Imagine  that  gang,  with 
appetites  whetted  by  a sea-voyage,  descending  upon  the 
little  island  Court,  which,  though  not  ashamed  to  exhibit 
its  cocoanut  matting  in  the  royal  corridors  and  its  crazy 
little  oil-lamps  before  the  immensely  wealthy  Russians, 
must  brush  up  and  go  to  no  end  of  expense  to  make  as 
good  a showing  as  possible  before  these  shoddy  Berliners. 
Besides,  the  Kaiser  always  expects  that  some  military  or 
naval  display  will  be  especially  arranged  for  him. 

But  not  only  poor  kings,  like  Christian,  object  to  these 
imperial  invasions;  at  Rome  and  Vienna,  not  to  mention 
the  small  German  courts,  the  cry,  ‘‘The  Prussians  are 
coming ! ” is  as  sure  of  causing  a panic  in  what  is  styled 
“highest  circles”  as  in  the  nurseries  of  France,  where 
the  echo  of  1870  to  1871  is  still  en  vogue  as  a means  of 
intimidation. 

On  February  21,  1895,  Kaiser  returned  in  high 
dudgeon  from  Vienna,  whither  he  had  gone  unexpectedly 
to  attend  the  funeral  of  the  late  Archduke  Albrecht. 
Albrecht  had  been  a good  hater  of  Prussia  all  his  life,  and 
if  his  ideas  had  prevailed  twenty-seven  years  ago,  Austria 
would  have  fallen  foul  of  the  Prussian  rear  and  flank ; only 
Moltke’s  incredible  swiftness  of  mobilization  queered  that 
plan.  This  eventuality  had  been  repeatedly  discussed  in 
the  press,  and,  in  view  of  the  circumstance.  Emperor 
Francis  Joseph  was  loath  to  invite  the  Kaiser  to  the  funeral. 
But  William  refused  to  acknowledge  the  tact  displayed  by 
his  brother  monarch.  “Here,”  so  ran  his  calculations  as 
depicted  in  some  of  his  remarks  made  before  leaving, — 
“ here  is  an  event  upon  which  the  eyes  of  the  world  will  be 


122 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


riveted  for  a day  at  least, — a pompous  funeral, — where  one 
may  cut  an  important  figure  as  the  only  live  war-lord ; be- 
sides, many  political  questions  call  for  discussion  with 
Francis  Joseph  just  now.  Would  it  not  be  absurd  to  miss 
this  opportunity  for  combining  pleasure,  pardon,  spectacu- 
lar display,  with  business?  ” 

William  rushed  off  to  Austria  pell-mell,  but  not  without 
having  previously  instructed  the  overseer  of  the  official 
scribes,  Herr  von  Tausch,  the  same  who  figured  in  the 
criminal  courts  in  1897,  to  proclaim  from  the  housetops 
that  the  German  Emperor  had  magnanimously  forgotten 
all  about  the  late  Archduke’s  evil  intentions,  and  had  gone 
to  pay  his  imperial  respects  to  the  dead  foe. 

The  first  effect  of  this  faiifaronade  was  the  withdrawal 
from  the  obsequies  of  the  dead  man’s  brother-in-law,  the 
Bavarian  Prince  Regent.  Luitpold,  as  a near  relative,  had 
no  ambition  to  take  second  rank,  walking  behind  William. 
The  Hofburg  officials  were  thrown  into  the  utmost  con- 
fusion. The  place  of  chief  mourner  had  been  reserved  for 
Emperor  Francis  Joseph;  now  there  were  two  sovereigns 
to  be  treated  with  equal  distinction.  So  all  arrangements 
were  upset,  and  the  Austrian  monarch  himself  was  most  seri- 
ously embarrassed.  However,  the  funeral  passed  off  with- 
out a hitch;  but  William  soon  found  that  Francis  Joseph, 
deeply  chagrined  at  the  absence  of  his  cousin,  was  not  in 
the  humor  to  talk  politics.  He  would  neither  argue  the 
election  of  Faure,  nor  the  question  of  the  renewal  of  the 
Triple  Alliance.  He  even  refused  to  express  an  opinion 
on  the  rumors  concerning  Count  Kalnoky’s  resignation, 
which  was  then  imminent. 

This  the  Emperor  himself  reported  on  coming  home, 
blaming,  at  the  same  time,  everybody  but  himself  for  the 
rebuffs  experienced.  What  he  did  not  tell  (the  Empress 
learned  of  it  later  through  her  brother,  who  had  it  from 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


123 


the  Princess  Philip  of  Coburg)  was  that  Francis  Joseph, 
surely  the  mildest  and  most  hospitable  of  men,  treated  the 
Kaiser  with  so  much  coolness  that  His  Majesty  left  his 
apartments  in  the  Hofburg  and  took  up  his  quarters  with 
Count  Philip  Eulenburg,  at  the  German  Embassy,  where 
the  object  of  the  visit  was  lost  sight  of  at  an  informal 
dinner  enlivened  by  songs  and  dances  which  hired  vaude- 
ville stars  and  the  ambassadorial  troubadour  himself  per- 
formed. 

And  that  happened  a year  after  William  had  called 
Francis  Joseph,  in  a speech  delivered  at  the  Austrian  Navy 
Casino  in  Pola,  “my  best  friend,  with  whom  I am  united 
in  sincerest  friendship,  and  who  is  my  most  loyal  com- 
panion in  arms.”  Finally,  the  King  of  Saxony  had  to  act 
as  peacemaker  between  the  two  Emperors. 

When  the  news  reached  Berlin,  in  the  middle  of  Novem- 
ber, 1889,  that  Dom  Pedro  had  been  deposed,  Duke 
Gunther  of  Schleswig  circulated  a story  to  the  effect  that 
the  Kaiser  received  the  information  with  the  remark : 
“Too  bad;  I had  just  thought  of  paying  him  a visit.” 
The  responsibility  for  this  anecdote  I must  leave  to  His 
Highness.  Impossible  it  is  not,  though  I doubt  that  Bis- 
marck would  have  allowed  the  Emperor  to  go  on  so  long  a 
journey  without  appointing  a regency  during  his  absence. 
Most  probably  the  Kaiser  had  information  that  Dom  Pedro 
intended  to  visit  Europe,  and  thus  give  him  a chance  to 
make  his  acquaintance.  He  never  alluded  to  the  matter  at 
table  or  in  the  course  of  general  conversation.  That  His 
Majesty,  after  the  venerable  monarch  had  been  deposed,  no 
longer  felt  any  desire  to  see  him,  is  quite  natural  with  a 
man  of  William's  character. 

After  the  bustle  occasioned  by  His  Majesty’s  preparations 
for  travel,  life  in  the  Neues  Palais,  which  is  never  brilliant, 
but  often  spectacular,  becomes  duller  and  more  insipid 


124 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


than  ever.  Entertainments  are  completely  abandoned,  and 
economy  is  the  word  heard  on  every  side.  The  Court 
and  House-marshals  give  strict  orders  that  expenses  be  cut 
all  round ; a number  of  the  servants  are  shipped  to  Berlin, 
so  that  their  board  wages,  to  which  they  are  entitled  while 
in  Potsdam,  may  be  saved;  only  flowers  from  the  royal 
gardens  dare  be  used  for  decoration,  while  great  loads  are 
bought  from  different  purveyors  during  the  Kaiser’s  resi- 
dence at  home,  and,  finally,  the  expenses  of  the  cuisine  are 
reduced  two-thirds,  because  the  Empress,  out  of  sheer 
en7iui,  falls  in  with  the  prevailing  rule  by  taking  her  meals 
privately  with  the  children. 

All  of  a sudden,  sometimes.  His  Majesty  bursts  anew 
into  the  midst  of  our  humdrum  existence,  having  left  his 
friends  abruptly,  or  his  contemplated  business  unfinished ; 
occasionally,  it  is  said,  press  criticism  brings  him  back 
earlier  than  anticipated.  Hence  he  employs  a day  or  so 
despatching  the  most  urgent  affairs  of  state,  and  immedi- 
ately sets  the  ball  of  courtly  entertainments  rolling.  He 
may  order  a dinner  of  a hundred  covers  or  more  for  next 
day,  and  again,  while  that  is  in  progress,  invite  his  guests, 
or  part  of  them,  to  accompany  him  on  a yachting  expedi- 
tion on  the  Havel  lakes. 

Gun-charger  Riger,  who,  in  his  gold-embroidered  chas- 
seur dress,  stands  behind  the  Kaiser’s  chair  on  festive 
occasions,  often  conveys  a brief  command  of  that  kind  to 
the  House-marshal  on  duty  in  this  fashion : “ His  Majesty’s 
yacht  Alexandra  and  so  and  so  many  auxiliary  yachts  must 
be  ready  at  such  and  such  an  hour,” — usually  at  four  or 
five,  if  the  meal  began  between  one  and  two. 

To  facilitate  this  imperial  wish,  telegraph,  telephone, 
and  mounted  messengers  must  be  plentifully  employed  in 
an  effort  to  drum  together  officers  and  crew,  hire  vessels, 
and  secure  a band.  Furthermore,  the  personnel  of  the 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


125 


“coffee  and  tea  kitchen  and  conditorei^'^  (confectionery) 
has  to  be  sent  to  the  steamer  with  their  outfit,  for  each  of 
the  five  meals  to  which  their  Majesties  are  accustomed  must 
be  served  punctually  under  all  circumstances. 

Promptly  at  the  hour  named,  the  marshal  on  duty  “sub- 
mits” that  carriages  are  waiting  to  bring  their  Majesties 
and  the  company  to  the  embarking-place,  and,  before  the 
vessel  leaves,  the  official  takes  heart  to  ask  his  master  where 
he  commands  that  supper  shall  be  served. 

Maybe. His  Majesty  answers,  carelessly:  “ Pfauen  Insel,” 
or,  “Park  of  the  Marble  Palace,”  “at  eight.” 

The  first  is  a small  wooded  island  in  the  Havel,  contain- 
ing a sparsely-furnished  royal  villa  that  affords  a certain 
amount  of  space,  but  little  else,  for  the  accommodation  of 
guests.  The  castellan  of  the  estate  or  castle  selected  for  the 
invasion  is  now  hurriedly  informed,  and  the  stable-master 
sets  about,  getting  ready  ten  or  more  so-called  kitchen  vans 
to  transport  all  that  is  necessary:  refrigerators  and  hot- 
closets,  table-linen,  basketfuls  of  silver  and  plate,  china 
and  crystal,  wines,  meats,  vegetables  and  delicacies,  lamps 
and  candelabra,  and  a thousand  and  one  accessories.  All 
these  things  are  under  the  care  of  certain  officials  and 
servants,  and,  the  staff  being  thoroughly  organized,  the 
whole  train  is  equipped  in  an  incredibly  short  while  and 
starts  for  its  destination,  the  Court-marshal  following  in  his 
carriage  to  superintend  the  arrangements  on  the  spot  {iiota 
bene,  if  the  Kaiser  has  not  meanwhile  made  up  his  mind 
to  go  elsewhere). 

Oh,  the  fickleness  of  the  great ! In  the  summers  of 
1895  1896,  especially,  the  places  of  rendezvous  were 

changed  with  alarming  frequency,  and  before  the  caval- 
cade started  for  a certain  castle  or  park,  the  men  usually 
offered  to  lay  wagers  that  upon  their  arrival  they  would 
find  a telegram  ordering  supper  in  some  other  lodge  or 


126 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


villa,  or  on  the  borders  of  some  lake  five  or  ten  miles  to 
the  south,  or  east,  or  west,  as  the  case  might  be.  Once 
they  were  chased  in  this  manner  from  Charlotten  Hof  to 
the  Baierische  Hauschen  in  Wildpark,  and  from  there  to 
the  Entenfang,  far  out  in  the  royal  hunting-grounds.  The 
Entenfang  is  a romantic  spot,  such  as  young  lovers  might 
select  for  a picnic;  but  imagine  the  tumult  and  work 
which  the  impromptu  establishment  of  a royal  table  of 
from  twenty  to  one  hundred  covers  must  occasion,  when 
the  nearest  castle  or  royal  villa  is  ten  miles  off.  The 
vans  had  to  be  sent  back  to  the  Neues  Palais  for  tables, 
chairs,  carpets,  and  a little  tent  for  the  toilet,  while  the 
nearest  military  post  furnished  field  cooking-apparatus,  and 
a dozen  or  more  horses  were  driven  lame  travelling  to  and 
fro  with  heavy  loads.  The  damage  caused  by  broken 
crockery,  crystal,  and  ruined  furniture  also  reached  a high 
figure. 

Foreign  visitors  at  our  Court  frequently  wonder  how  it 
is  possible  for  one  man  to  give  employment  to  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  horses  in  driving  and  riding,  as  the  Emperor 
does.  The  story  of  these  whimsical  excursions  explains  that 
point,  for,  aside  from  the  horses  needed  for  the  service, 
carriages  must  be  sent  to  fetch  their  Majesties  and  suite  and 
company  from  some  distant  place,  perhaps,  while  others  are 
collecting  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  Potsdam  and  neigh- 
borhood, or  from  incoming  trains,  who  have  been  ‘‘com- 
manded ” to  be  present  at  supper  at  some  place  where  at 
the  time  stipulated  no  sign  of  life  exists. 

At  twelve  or  one  o’clock  in  the  morning,  when  the 
imperial  master,  his  titled  suite  and  his  friends,  have 
forgotten,  in  several  hours’  sleep,  all  about  the  forty-five 
minutes  of  entertainment  that  kept  a small  army  of  men, 
women,  and  beasts  on  the  run  since  dinner,  the  vans  and 
carry-alls  return  to  the  palace,  often  awakening  many  a 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


127 


noble  lord  and  lady  who  wonder  that  any  living  creature 
dare  disturb  their  august  slumber. 

Whether  they  dare  or  not,  they  do.  It  is  a way  they 
have  of  getting  even  with  their  betters.” 

When  the  Kaiser  is  at  home,  his  conversation  perpetually 
turns  on  the  subject  of  future  outings,  and  his  secretaries 
and  adjutants  are  kept  busy  scouring  the  papers  for  items 
that  promise  excuses  for  a visit  to  one  place  or  another. 
As  soon  as  an  opening  is  discovered,  the  Court-marshal 
must  find  ways  and  means  to  secure  an  invitation  for  the 
Emperor,  and  to  that  end  either  the  military  authorities, 
the  La7idrath  (chief  of  a county),  or  some  Prince  or  aris- 
tocrat living  in  the  neighborhood,  receives  instructions, 
which  in  many  cases  are  most  eagerly  followed,  for  Wil- 
liam’s presence  in  any  place,  not  his  capital,  is  a guaran- 
tee for  no  end  of  advertisement;  sometimes,  though,  it  is 
quite  difficult  to  persuade  the  municipal  authorities,  these 
worthy  men  being  afraid  of  the  cost  of  the  undertaking. 

If  neither  cities  nor  country  districts,  neither  the  North 
German  Lloyd  nor  the  Hamburg  Line,  neither  the  ship- 
yards nor  yacht  or  hunting  clubs  at  home  or  abroad,  hold 
out  allurements,  the  Kaiser,  quickly  resolved,  makes  oppor- 
tunities for  travel  or  display. 

He  observes,  for  instance,  that  it  is  so  and  so  many 

years  since  the Regiment  received  an  honored  flag. 

“Let’s  grant  it  a new  set  of  colors,”  says  William,  and 
presently  parades,  religious  ceremonies,  speechifyings,  din- 
ners, and  tattoos  are  in  the  air.  Or,  all  regiments  being 
provided  with  flags.  His  Majesty  feels  “graciously  pleased” 
to  bestow  on  one  or  another  “ensign  ribbons,”  an  act 
yielding  as  much  in  the  way  of  spectacular  splendor  as  the 
other. 

In  contrast  to  the  Empress,  William  is  not  a religious 
person,  but,  like  Her  Majesty,  firmly  believes  that  godliness 


128 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


does  very  well  for  common  people.  With  that  idea 
in  mind,  he  inaugurated  his  crusade  for  the  building  of 
churches,  leaving  to  Auguste  Victoria’s  initiative  the  task 
of  collecting  the  necessary  funds.  For  his  part  he  is  inter- 
ested only  in  the  corner-stone-laying  and  the  opening  of 
such  edifices. 

“We  have  built  fifteen  churches  in  Berlin  alone  since 
1890,”  said  William,  in  the  course  of  a dinner  at  the  Berlin 
Schloss,  some  time  ago. 

“ His  Majesty  means  he  drove  thirty  times  d la  Dumont 
to  commencement  and  finishing  celebrations,”  whispered 
my  neighbor,  the  then  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  Baron  von  IMarschall,  imitating  the  persiflage  of 
his  South  German  home,  where  it  is  the  fashion  to  refer  to 
a bevy  of  ten  girls  as  “twenty  bosoms.” 

Provided  nothing  better  offers  itself,  the  Kaiser  is  even 
content  to  assist  at  church  ceremonials  of  the  sort  de- 
scribed in  the  provinces;  “they  bore  him  awfully,”  says 
Baron  von  Lyncker,  “ but  he  finds  opportunity  for  making 
a speech  there,  and  a little  newspaper  notoriety  is  likewise 
sure  to  follow.  And  one  must  be  thankful  for  small  favors 
in  these  democratic  times.”  That  the  Kaiser  allows  no 
war  or  other  monument  to  be  unveiled  without  personally 
participating  in  the  act,  hardly  requires  comment. 

In  a preceding  paragraph,  I referred  to  the  easy  complai- 
sance with  which  the  aristocracy  submits  to  the  Kaiser’s 
wishes.  William,  indeed,  seems  to  have  cowed  the  flower 
of  German  nobility  into  a condition  that  once  prevailed  in 
France,  when  the  dignitaries  of  the  crown  fought  among 
themselves  as  to  who  should  have  the  honor  to  hand  His 
Majesty  a clean  shirt  or  remove  his  dirty  boots.  Let  me 
give  one  instance  for  many. 

On  October  24,  1894,  the  Kaiser’s  “Song  to  ^gir”  was 
performed  at  a matinee  in  the  Royal  Opera  House,  which 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


129 


the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wied  attended,  together  with 
their  Majesties. 

The  Prince  is  a man  in  the  fifties,  belongs  to  one  of  the 
proudest  families  in  Europe,  and  besides  is  the  brother  of 
the  Queen  of  Roumania  and  an  uncle  of  the  Queen  of 
Holland;  yet  every  time  the  big  audience  waxed  enthu- 
siastic over  His  Majesty’s  alleged  masterpiece,  this  old  man 
with  silvery  hair  rose  respectfully  from  his  seat  and  bowed 
low  before  his  nephew,  keeping  up  the  farce  all  through 
the  performance  without  William  in  any  way  restraining 
him. 

And  this  reminds  me,  by  way  of  contrast,  of  a conver- 
sation at  which  I was  present  some  time  previous  to  that 
public  exhibition  of  senile  adulation. 

“Tell  me,  honestly,  who  helped  His  Majesty  compose 
this  frightful  'Song  to  ^gir?’  ” 

“State  secret.  Your  Royal  Highness  must  certainly 
excuse  me  this  time,”  and  Adjutant  Count  Moltke  looked 
up  helplessly  into  the  beautiful  eyes  of  the  Emperor’s 
sister. 

“As  my  big  brother  remarked  the  other  day  to  the 
Burgomaster  of  Thorn : ' I can  be  very  disagreeable  if 
need  be,’  said  the  Princess  of  Meiningen.  “Now,  Herr 
Major,  answer  pit  and  pat,  I command  you.” 

“ His  Majesty  composed  the  song.” 

“That  is  the  official  version,  I know;  what  I am  inter- 
ested in,  is  to  find  out  how  he  did  it.” 

“At  the  piano.  Your  Royal  Highness.” 

“ Since  when  does  His  Majesty  play?  ” 

“He  has  the  finest  ear  for  music,  that  Your  Royal 
Highness  will  not  deny.  He  struck  the  keys  with  one 
finger,  and,  if  you  promise  not  to  give  me  away,  your 
humble  servant  had  the  honor  of  putting  the  all-highest’ s 
composition  on  paper.” 


130 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


‘‘Thanks,  awfully,”  said  the  Princess,  and,  turning  to 
her  lady-in-waiting,  Fraulein  von  Ramin,  now  Madame  von 
Brochen,  she  added:  “Not  a word  of  this  to  anybody; 
our  dear  Moltke  must  not  be  punished  for  amusing  us.” 
And,  once  more  addressing  the  adjutant,  she  continued 
with  her  usual  mocking  laugh:  “I  will  now  tell  you  how 
it  was  done,  you  innocent.  The  Emperor  was  strumming 
the  piano  with  one  finger,  when  a certain  blonde  giant 
about  your  size  stepped  behind  him,  and,  striking  the  keys, 
gave  life  to  a musical  composition  he,  the  giant,  had  half 
perfected  in  his  head.  The  air  pleased  His  Majesty,  and 
he  added  a note  here  and  there.  And,  as  the  thing  pro- 
gressed, my  big  brother  said : ‘ This  would  be  an  excellent 
accompaniment  to  Eulenburg’s  northern  legend.  Call  him 
at  once.’  When  the  troubadour  appeared,  all  three  of  you 
set  to  work  on  this  frightful  piece  of  clap-trap,  and,  as  you 
correctly  reported,  the  honor  of  putting  the  composition 
on  paper  fell  to  you  as  the  only  capable  musician  of  the 
trio, — the  composition,  I said,  not  the  all-highest  one.” 

This  lively  colloquy  occurred  a few  days  after  the  much- 
disputed  air  had  been  performed  at  a concert  in  honor  of  a 
deputation  from  the  British  Royal  Dragoons  visiting  Berlin 
to  congratulate  their  new  chief,  the  Kaiser,  and  it  gives 
the  true  story  of  the  birth  of  that  song.  For  the  orches- 
tration, it  may  be  added.  Professor  Albert  Becker,  of 
Berlin,  is  responsible ; he  received  the  Hohenzollern  Cross 
in  acknowledgment. 

Besides  clearing  up  the  “^gir”  mystery,  the  above 
affords  an  interesting  illustration  of  William’s  mode  of 
work.  He  has  talents,  undoubtedly,  but  they  are  creative 
only  in  giving  work  to  others,  the  product  passing  for  his 
own  in  the  end.  As  Herren  von  Moltke  and  Philip  Eulen- 
burg  are  the  real  authors  of  “his”  “Song  to  AEgir,”  so 
Professor  Knackfuss,  in  Cassel,  composes  his  cartoons, 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  13I 

though  being  credited  only  with  their  technical  execution. 
The  late  Court  chaplain  Frommel  used  to  write  the  imperial 
sermons  delivered  with  so  much  eclat  on  the  deck  of  the 
yacht  Hohenzollern ; officers  of  the  military  household 
prepare  William’s  lectures,  and  the  artist  Karl  Saltzmann 
paints  his  landscapes  and  marine  views. 

To  shield  their  master  from  the  accusation  of  fritter- 
ing away  his  time  in  useless  dilettanteism,  the  German 
official  press  occasionally  prints  historic  reviews  purport- 
ing to  show  that  the  Hohenzollerns  of  all  ages  have 
been  among  the  most  gifted  of  mortals, — authors,  poets, 
musicians,  artists.  Especially  to  Frederick  William  the 
First’s  cleverness  as  a painter,  constant  reference  is  made, 
although  any  one  acquainted  with  the  history  of  the  Prus- 
sian Court  might  be  aware  of  the  untenableness  of  that 
claim.  This  gentleman,  the  father  of  the  great  Frederick, 
wrote  his  royal  signature  upon  a good  many  canvases,  it 
is  true,  but  few  of  the  pictures  attributed  to  his  brush 
were  really  his.  As  a matter  of  fact,  instead  of  being  the 
Apelles  of  the  Brandenburg  dynasty,  its  first  noted  painter, 
he  started  the  fashion  of  counterfeiting,  of  which  his  son 
became  past-master.  His  scheme  was  to  employ  poor 
artists  by  the  year,  and  to  let  them  paint  daubs  of  all  sizes 
and  subjects.  These  he  adorned  with  his  name,  adding  a 
little  coloring  here  and  there  into  the  bargain,  and  sold  at 
high  prices  to  flatterers  and  enemies,  as  the  case  might  be, 
for  in  those  days  the  modes  of  punishment  at  the  disposal 
of  a Majesty  were  manifold  and  curious. 

A cunning  knave  this  second  King  of  Prussia,  and  his 
august  example  was  not  entirely  lost  upon  his  successors,  as 
the  case  under  consideration  shows.  But,  in  weighing  the 
plentiful  boasts  of  imperial  achievements  upon  the  scale  of 
sober  judgment,  there  is  still  another  point  to  be  noticed: 
William’s  daily  programme — I remind  the  reader  of  Count 


132 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


Seckendorf’s  witty  delineation  of  His  Majesty’s  labors 
hour  by  hour — precludes  in  itself  the  undertaking  of  any 
great  amount  of  serious  work  on  the  Kaiser’s  part.  Having 
forever  one  foot  in  the  stirrup  and  planning  new  diversions 
before  another  is  fairly  under  way,  how  should  this  alleged 
jack-of-all-trades  find  time  for  the  literary,  musical,  and 
artistic  pursuits  credited  to  him  ? There  are  geniuses  who 
accomplish  a prodigious  amount  of  work  by  turning  night 
into  day ; but,  with  all  my  experience  in  the  royal  house- 
hold, I am  at  a loss  to  account  for  the  newspaper  state- 
ments setting  forth  that  now  and  again  the  Kaiser  spends 
half,  or  three-quarters  of  the  night,  studying  state  papers 
or  working  out  great  projects  in  the  interest  of  public 
concern. 

In  the  first  place,  his  constitutional  aversion  to  sitting  still 
for  a considerable  time  is  against  night-work,  even  suppos- 
ing, for  argument’s  sake,  that  the  day’s  or  evening’s  amuse- 
ments did  not  tire  out  the  Kaiser  so  completely  as  to 
make  it  impossible  for  him  to  give  the  necessary  attention 
to  important  business;  moreover,  his  love  of  sleep  would 
stand  in  the  way.  After  supper,  or  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  night’s  entertainment,  the  Kaiser  invariably  retires  as 
speedily  as  possible,  for  Morgen  wieder  lustick^"  thinks 
His  Majesty,  with  Jerome,  the  late  King  of  Westphalia. 
And  to  persevere  in  a round  of  pleasures  and  excitement  it 
is  essential  to  husband  one’s  strength. 

Many  will  disagree  with  the  statements  made,  I know. 
Having  heard  so  much  to  the  contrary,  people  are  natu- 
rally disinclined  to  have  their  ideas  upset.  Still,  to  defend 
myself  against  accusations  of  inaccuracy  or  exaggeration,  I 
need  but  quote  certain  notes  from  my  diary  covering  the 
period  from  August,  1893,  to  August,  1894. 

Of  the  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days,  the  Kaiser 
spent  away  from  his  official  residence  one  hundred  and 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


133 


ninety-nine,  devoting  himself  to  the  army  on  twenty-seven 
days,  and  employing  sixteen  days  in  duties  of  representa- 
tion. One  hundred  and  fifty-six  days  were  consumed  by 
hunting-trips,  sea-journeys,  and  visiting. 

Now  to  the  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  days  when  His 
Majesty  was  ‘‘officially”  at  home.  Seventy-seven  of  them 
were  pleasantly  passed  in  shooting,  boating,  yachting,  or 
other  out-door  exercise  in  the  neighborhood  of  Potsdam 
or  Berlin,  while  of  the  remaining  eighty-nine  days,  each 
twenty- four  hours  were  diversified  by  banquets,  corsos, 
concerts,  theatrical  performances ; by  receptions,  reviews, 
or  speech-makings.  The  number  of  miles  covered  by  the 
Kaiser  either  in  his  saloon-carriage  or  on  board  ship  during 
the  period  mentioned,  amounted  to  three-quarters  of  the 
earth’s  circumference. 

A dozen  members  of  our  Court  society  were  discussing 
the  above  facts,  furnished  to  settle  a bet  between  Prin- 
cess Frederick  Leopold  and  her  brother,  Duke  Gunther, 
at  a musicale  given  by  the  widow  of  the  Red  Prince 
in  her  palace  on  Leipziger  Platz,  when  Princess  Aribert 
of  Anhalt,  a sprightly  young  Englishwoman,  remarked : 
“ Granted  His  Majesty  cannot  ply  the  fourteen  trades 
and  arts  imputed  by  some  historians  to  Peter  the  Great, 
no  one  will  gainsay  that  he  is  a brilliant  speaker  and  an 
adept  in  military  science.” 

“Of  his  rhetorical  qualities,”  replied  our  graceful  host- 
ess, who  at  that  time  had  special  reasons  for  quarrelling 
with  her  grandnephew,  “foreigners,  even  those  under- 
standing German  as  well  as  you,  my  dear,  can  hardly  form 
a proper  estimate.  For  myself,  I think  the  Kaiser’s 
speeches  neither  distinguished  for  elegance  of  diction  nor 
for  originality.  The  most  offensive  sameness  pervades 
them,  and  not  infrequently  they  abound  in  misstate- 
ments.” 


134 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


I could  have  furnished  Her  Royal  Highness  at  least  one 
very  good  reason  for  the  faults  pointed  out : these  speeches 
are  of  the  Kaiser’s  own  making. 

Only  very  rarely  will  His  Majesty  take  the  trouble  to 
jot  down  minutes,  as  he  did  with  the  address  to  the  re- 
cruits mentioned  in  another  chapter,  and  even  then  it  is 
done  more  to  assist  memory  in  following  out  a certain  line 
of  thought,  than  to  retain  dates  and  figures.  Moreover,  I 
doubt  that  he  thinks  it  necessary  to  do  so.  A person  who, 
relying  merely  upon  his  musical  ear,  and  without  having 
had  instruction  in  singing,  or  being  able  to  play  an  in- 
strument, gets  up  in  a stately  gathering  to  sing  a ballad 
abounding  in  difficult  passages,  is  certainly  the  quintes- 
sence of  self-reliance. 

And  that  is  exactly  what  William  did  at  Castle  Schlitz, 
in  May,  1894,  with  Count  Goertz  as  accompanist,  the 
boldness  of  the  exploit  before  an  audience  distinguished 
for  artistic  accomplishments  being  none  the  less  pro- 
nounced on  account  of  the  fact  that  the  air  was  alleged 
to  be  his  own  composition. 

Of  the  performance.  Countess  Goertz  spoke  to  the  Em- 
press in  most  enthusiastic  terms ; but,  to  quote  William, 
‘‘Her  Ladyship  is  a woman  so  beautiful  that  to  expect 
sense  from  her  would  be  hoggish.” 

That  on  the  same  occasion  His  Majesty  acquitted  him- 
self quite  well  as  Kapelbneister^  conducting  the  band,  a mil- 
itary one,  which  had  been  thoroughly  drilled  in  performing 
the  “ Song  to  ^gir,”  is  not  astonishing.  With  his  ear  for 
music  and  a little  attention  to  technique,  it  would  have 
been  difficult,  indeed,  to  lead  so  finished  an  organization 
into  blunders  when  every  man  knew  that  his  slightest 
mistake  would  be  followed  by  professional  disgrace. 

Some  months  after  the  exploit  in  Schlitz,  His  Majesty 
and  a great  number  of  friends  were  hunting  near  Castle 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


135 


Letzlingen,  the  band  of  the  Saltzwedel  Lancers  furnishing 
the  table-music.  At  that  time,  the  official  papers  reported : 
‘^the  Kaiser  again  proved  his  eminent  musical  talent  by 
conducting  the  grand  march  from  ‘Aida.’  ” One  of  the 
party,  General  von  Haenisch,  however,  tells  me  that  this 
is  not  true.  The  Kaiser  took  up  the  baton  to  lead 
the  “ Hohenfriedberger ” and  Count  Moltke’s  “Rider’s 
March,”  compositions  of  quite  a different  calibre  to 
Verdi’s  great  work,  and  which,  besides,  the  band  could 
have  played  in  the  dark  and  with  eyes  closed. 

Much  as  one  might  be  inclined  to  look  upon  this  sort 
of  coxcombry  as  a harmless  affectation  liable  to  wear  off 
in  the  course  of  time,  its  real  purport  is  too  glaring  to 
be  overlooked;  this  parading  with  plumes  borrowed  and 
stolen  the  many  bids  for  popular  applause  through  news- 
paper adulation  smacking  of  the  methods  of  the  press 
agent,  William’s  public  lecturing  and  preaching,  his  co- 
quetting with  the  stage  and  letters, — all  is  but  part  of  a 
system  carefully  pieced  together  to  uphold  the  pretence 
of  imperial  omnipotence  and  omniknowledge. 

“As  to  the  Socialists,  leave  them  to  me;  that’s  what  I 
told  Bismarck  a dozen  times,”  said  the  Kaiser  at  supper 
on  May  14,  1889,  after  the  famous  audience  granted  by 
him  to  a party  of  strikers ; “I  will  settle  them  single- 
handed.”  And  more  than  eight  years  later,  toward  the 
end  of  July,  1897,  when  he  was  on  his  way  home  from 
Norway,  he  kept  the  wires  hot  for  three  days,  demanding 
Miquel,  Prince  Hohenlohe,  and  other  friends  to  arrange 
for  him  a meeting  with  Bismarck,  that  he  might  ask  the 
ex-Chancellor’s  advice  concerning  the  re-introduction  of 
the  old  Bismarckian  Socialistic  laws,  which  the  govern- 
ment allowed  to  pass  out  of  existence  after  the  first  Chan- 
cellor’s dismissal.  And  as  in  1889  and  1890  the  whole 
palace  was  moved  to  sympathize  with  the  poor  laboring 


136 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


man,  who  needed  enlightenment  and  justice  such  as  Wil- 
liam alone  knew  how  to  provide  and  administer  (perish 
the  thought  that  the  Iron  Chancellor  ever  possessed  the 
slightest  aptitude  for  dealing  with  the  labor  question ! ), 
so  we  were  recently  drilled  to  return  to  the  abandoned 
maxims  and  help  the  Kaiser  eat  his  own  words, — a 
practice  he  indulges  in  so  frequently  that  I think  his 
memory  is  becoming  defective,  as  otherwise  his  inor- 
dinate vanity  would  never  permit  him  to  acknowledge 
defeat. 

To  return  to  the  observations  of  Princess  Frederick 
Charles.  There  is,  among  the  numberless  speeches  and 
sayings  reported  of  the  Kaiser,  not  one  pithy  remark  that 
has  become  a by-word  in  every-day  speech  or  in  letters. 
In  all  this  dreary  wilderness  of  imperial  verbosity,  we 
find  no  mot  that  outlived  the  hour  of  its  birth,  and  the 
Kaiser’s  observations,  as  a general  thing,  are  too  common- 
place and  insignificant  even  to  permit  dressing  up.  Other 
important  persons  are  made  to  say  clever  things,  often 
without  their  knowledge  or  consent,  but  William’s  friends 
and  admirers  scour  his  speeches  vainly  for  a peg  upon 
which  to  hang  some  witticism,  or  some  flash  of  genius 
that  might  eventually  be  credited  to  the  royal  tattler.  The 
Emperor,  who  claims  to  be  a student  of  the  older  French 
literature,  probably  got  far  enough  in  Rivarol  to  learn 
that  “it  is  an  immense  advantage  to  have  never  said 
anything.”  The  sentence  following,  namely:  “but  one 
should  not  abuse  it,”  he  must  have  overlooked,  for  he 
certainly  does  abuse  the  privilege.  And  in  a twofold 
manner  too : he  keeps  on  saying  nothing,  and  misquotes 
history  at  the  same  time.  I have  not  kept  a minute 
account  of  the  missives,  but,  if  memory  serves  me  right, 
I should  say  that  fully  one-third  of  the  mysterious  anony- 
mous letters  that  caused  the  great  Court  scandal  of  which 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


137 


I will  speak  presently,  contained  caustic  references  to  the 
Kaiser’s  assassination  of  historical  facts. 

So  was,  during  the  Christmas  season  of  1894,  Her  Maj- 
esty’s holiday  humor  seriously  disturbed  by  an  epistle  haul- 
ing the  Kaiser  over  the  coals  for  a speech  he  had  made  in 
Kiel,  at  the  swearing-in  of  recruits,  and  which  referred 
to  the  battle  of  Vercella  (loi  b.c.)  as  having  been  fought 
‘^between  Germans  and  Romans”  (mistake  No.  i),  and 
wherein  “the  Romans  were  vanquished”  (mistake  No.  2) 
“ by  the  enemy’s  superior  valor  ” (mistake  No.  3). 

After  pointing  out  half  a dozen  other  errors,  the  writer 
of  the  anonymous  note,  doubtless  a woman,  suggested 
that  Auguste  Victoria  buy  her  husband  a small  reference- 
library;  at  the  same  time  the  correspondent  thanked 
“ William-the-Sudden  ” for  having  garbled  history  in  order 
to  pay  homage  to  the  arms  of  ancient  France,  “for,” 
said  this  writer,  “the  barbaric  tribe  which  opposed  the 
Romans  at  Vercella  were  not  Germans,  but  Cimbri,  or 
Gauls;  that  is,  they  belonged  to  the  same  family  as  the 
French  of  to-day.”  Similar  anonymous  notes  addressed 
to  Her  Majesty  emptied  the  vials  of  sarcasm  over  the 
composer  of  the  “Song  to  yEgir,”  which  latter,  it  was 
pointed  out,  was  not  a god  of  the  sea,  but  a miserable 
landlubber,  who  never  had  so  much  as  a sniff  of  the  ocean. 

The  Empress  used  to  turn  over  these  epistles  to  her  hus- 
band, with  an  aching  heart ; but  if  Her  Majesty,  like  most 
of  her  friends,  hoped  that  these  missives  would  make  Wil- 
liam more  careful  in  the  future,  her  expectations  were  not 
realized,  for  the  Kaiser  goes  bravely  on  blundering  and 
exposing  himself  to  ridicule.  So  he  improvised,  at  the  un- 
veiling of  the  Kaiser  Wilhelm  monument  in  Cologne,  in 
July,  1897,  an  appeal  for  the  enlargement  of  the  navy, 
taking  his  text  from  “the  figure  of  the  ancient  sea-god  ^gir 
embellishing  a medallion  at  the  foot  of  this  proud  statue.” 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


I3S 

It  happened,  however,  that  the  image  referred  to  did  not 
represent  ^gir,  but  ‘‘Father  Rhine,”  who  resembles  his 
heathen  colleague  in  everything  save  the  bunches  of  grapes 
that  rest  upon  his  locks.  Of  course,  in  the  universal  hilar- 
ity provoked  by  this  quid  pro  quo^  the  Emperor’s  appeal 
went  for  naught. 

That  young  English  Princess  whom  we  met  in  the  palace 
on  Leipziger  Platz  brought  up  the  question  of  the  Kaiser’s 
singular  adeptness  for  the  military,  with  a vengeance.  It 
is  in  bad  taste  to  speak  of  the  delinquent  in  the  hangman’s 
house.  The  widow  of  the  Red  Prince,  greatest  of  Hohen- 
zollern  strategists  since  the  Seven  Years’  War,  did  not  cite 
this  truism  to  her  young  relative  \ but  the  list  of  military 
blunders  she  proceeded  to  lay  at  the  war-lord’s  door  proved 
that  she  had  the  proverb  in  mind. 

“Field-marshal  Count  Blumenthal,”  she  said,  “who,  as 
chief  of  the  Crown  Prince’s  staff  in  the  wars  of  1866  and 
1870,  plucked  the  laurels  that  made  the  Kaiser’s  father 
appear  almost  as  great  a general  as  my  own  husband, — 
Blumenthal  used  to  complain  that  he  was  ever  obliged  to 
prod  Frederick  to  action.  In  war,  the  man  of  ripe  and 
ready  judgment  is  the  most  successful;  but  the  late  Em- 
peror was  slow  at  thinking,  and  even  more  dilatory  when 
he  came  to  act. 

“With  his  son  (William  II),  just  the  opposite  holds 
good.  If  that  young  man  has  ever  been  able  to  resist  a 
sudden  impulse  to  any  deed,  no  one  in  or  out  of  his  family 
has  heard  of  it.  Some  years  ago  he  made  his  wife  chief  of 
the  Pasewalk  cuirassiers,  and  designed  a uniform  for  her. 
As  proprietress  of  this  crack  regiment,  Auguste  Victoria  is 
entitled  to  the  insignia  of  a general ; but  the  Emperor, 
unthinking  as  he  is,  bestowed  upon  her  lieutenant’s  epau- 
lettes. Think  of  it, — a lieutenant  leading  a regiment  be- 
fore the  war-lord  in  parade,  a lieutenant  presiding  at  the 


WILIIKLAIINA  MARGRAVINE  OF  BAYREUTH 

Sister  of  Frederick  the  Great  and  author  of  the 
famous  Memoirs 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


139 


State  banquets  in  the  officers’  mess  ! On  another  occasion, 
when  the  Russian  craze  had  hold  of  him,  he  issued  an 
order  compelling  the  officers  of  the  General  Staff  to  attend 
desk-work  in  riding-boots.  They  did  so  for  a day  or  two ; 
but,  finding  it  impossible  to  continue  their  studies  in  this 
heavy  accoutrement,  combined  among  themselves  to  dis- 
obey the  command  and  resume  ordinary  foot-gear. 

“ But  the  most  thoughtless  of  all  his  military  blunders 
was  his  cabinet  order  creating  Your  Highness’s  grand- 
mother ’ ’ (and  the  old  Princess  bowed  with  a mock  cour- 
tesy toward  the  Englishwoman),  Queen  Victoria,  Chief 
of  the  First  Dragoons.” 

“Young  Mrs.  Aribert,”  as  Louise  of  Anhalt  is  familiarly 
called  at  Court,  started  up,  and  seemed  to  be  struggling  for 
words. 

“ Tut,  tut ! ” appeased  Her  Royal  Highness  the  little  fire- 
brand, placing  one  hand  on  Louise’s  knee,  “no  disrespect 
to  Her  Majesty,  I assure  you.  The  stupidity  was  all  on  my 
grandnephew’s  part.  He  named  the  First  Dragoons  * Queen 
of  England  Dragoons  ’ just  one  hundred  and  eighty-two 
years,  less  two  months  and  twenty-nine  days,  after  the 
union  between  England  and  Scotland  went  into  effect  and 
the  realm  became  officially  known  as  Great  Britain.” 

Everybody  in  the  room  saf  speechless  for  a while,  until 
Princess  Aribert  said,  half-pleadingly : “But,  dear  aunt, 
the  change  in  the  nomenclature  that  eventually  had  to  be 
made  caused  no  great  havoc,  I trust.” 

“ Oh,  no  ! ” replied  the  Princess,  “ His  Majesty  did  not 
suffer  the  least  inconvenience  on  account  of  that  error; 
but  the  nation  who  had  to  pay  double  for  the  initials 
attached  to  the  shoulder-straps  and  on  the  helmets  doubt- 
less felt  greatly  edified  by  the  blunder,  and  so  did  the  offi- 
cers who  for  similar  reasons  were  several  thousand  marks 
out  of  pocket.” 


CHAPTER  VII 


Both  Majesties,  as  mentioned  in  a previous  chapter, 
being  indifferent  talkers,  after-dinner  entertainments  at 
the  Prussian  Court  are  not  of  a very  lofty  sort;  indeed, 
I am  not  stretching  the  point  when  I say  that  ennui 
begins  to  hang  heavily  upon  all  present  in  the  gilded 
salons  as  soon  as  the  coffee  is  brought  in,  unless  the 
Kaiser  happens  to  lecture,  or  chooses  to  exhaust  his 
stock  of  humorous  remarks;  in  that  event  it  becomes 
every  one’s  duty  to  appear,  at  least,  interested  and  edi- 
fied. 

To  diversify  things  a bit,  we  frequently  arrange  “rebus 
competitions,”  a form  of  amusement  in  which  the  simple- 
minded  Empress  takes  great  delight,  while  the  Kaiser,  who 
not  only  tolerates  the  “twin  sister  of  charade  ” in  his  own 
house,  but  has  introduced  the  game  into  the  army  officers’ 
casinos,  takes  active  part  in  the  sport  either  for  the  pur- 
pose of  drawing  attention  to  some  smart  idea  that  has 
entered  his  head,  or  merely  for  the  sake  of  hearing  himself 
talk. 

Whether,  as  Princess  Charlotte  suspects,  it  was  owing  to 
the  fact  that  she  is  known  to  “hate  rebuses,”  or  whether 
it  was  intended  as  a tribute  to  her  fame  as  a wit,  I do  not 
know;  but  the  future  Duchess  of  Meiningen  was,  until 
quite  recently,  forced  to  contribute  more  often  to  the 

141 


142 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


pictorial  pastime  of  the  Court  than  any  other  member  of 
the  royal  family  or  the  household. 

Now  it  happened,  at  an  evening  reception  at  the  Berlin 
Schloss,  in  the  winter  of  1896,  that  Her  Highness  was 
called  away  from  an  animated  conversation  she  was  carry- 
ing on  with  half  a dozen  young  officers.  She  responded 
languidly  and  with  ill-grace,  and,  turning  to  me,  whis- 
pered : 

will  teach  them  a lesson  to-night.  Their  Majesties 
ought  to  know  better  than  to  draw  me  into  any  such  sew- 
ing-society frolic.  Ah,  yes,”  she  added,  changing  her 
tone,  “I  came  prepared  for  the  ordeal,  but  had  no  idea 
that  the  audience  would  include  His  Majesty.  I warn 
you,  brother,  that  one  of  your  wondrous  ideals  may  be 
shattered,  if  you  insist  upon  the  exploitation  of  my  poor 
riddle.” 

‘‘Never  mind,  Lottchen,  if  you  amuse  us,  all  shall  be 
forgiven.” 

“Then  send  for  the  copy  of  the  Journal  Amusant  which 
I saw  on  your  desk.  ’ ’ 

The  lively  boulevard  sheet  which  contained  a grotesque 
review  of  the  salon  was  brought  in,  together  with  a number 
of  scissors  that  had  likewise  been  ordered,  and  Her  Royal 
Highness  instructed  several  of  her  uniformed  friends  to  cut 
out  certain  pictures,  which  she  pasted  on  a sheet  of  white 
paper,  adding  one  or  two  pencil  sketches  with  her  own 
hand. 

“Here  we  have  the  enigmatical  representation  of  one  of 
the  most  interesting  figures  in  history,”  she  began,  in  the 
voice  of  an  auctioneer.  “You  all  know  the  person.  One 
of  our  greatest  poets  has  immortalized  the  subject  in  a 
stirring  drama,  while  the  figures  in  the  rebus  are  all  taken 
from  the  epitaph  erected  to  the  person’s  memory  by  a fine 
English  wit.” 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


143 


Their  Majesties,  the  Princesses  and  Princes,  and  all 
the  lords  and  ladies  crowded  around  the  table,  greet- 
ing Her  Royal  Highness’s  words  with  rounds  of  ap- 
plause. 

But  what  do  these  caricatures  stand  for?”  asked  the 
Kaiserin,  inclining  her  fair  head  toward  the  array  of 
printed  and  hand-drawn  images. 

^‘At  Your  Majesty’s  command,”  courtesied  Princess 
Charlotte,  and,  taking  up  her  fan,  the  sprightly  young 
woman  pointed  out  each  figure,  labelling  them  in  succes- 
sion as  follows : ^^Here  we  have  a man-at-arms  or  woman- 
at-arms  (who  would  know  the  difference  ?) ; secondly,  the 
image  of  a saint ; thirdly,  that  of  a witch ; fourthly,  that 
of  a lusty  young  fellow ; fifthly,  that  of  a sweet  maiden ; 
sixthly,  that  of  a harlot;  No.  7,  the  periwig  of  a judge, 
indicating  the  law ; No.  8,  the  emblem  of  the  Republic ; 
No.  9,  the  Archangel  Gabriel  alarming  the  garrisons  of 
the  world  on  judgment-day.” 

Everybody  set  to  guessing,  and  everybody  was  highly 
astonished  when,  in  the  end,  a correct  answer  not  forth- 
coming, Her  Royal  Highness  announced  the  solution  of 
the  rebus:  Joan  of  Arc. 

“Clever,  very  clever!”  cried  the  Emperor;  “it  is 
a fact  that  the  sex  of  the  reputed  heroine  has  been  in 
doubt.” 

“I  have  read  somewhere  that  this  virgin  was  blessed 
with  several  children,”  remarked  the  Duke  of  Schleswig, 
dryly. 

“But  what  has  this  type  of  a cocotte  to  do  with  the 
story?”  And  Her  Majesty  indicated  one  of  the  Journal 
Amusani  sketches. 

“ If  you  will  let  me  quote  an  epitaph  from  ^ Historical 
Rarities,’  to  which  I alluded,  the  connection  will  become 
clear  at  once.” 


144 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


‘^Provided  it  is  not  too,  too ” lisped  the  Empress, 

who  dreads  her  sister-in-law’s  devil-may-care  spirits;  but 
the  Kaiser,  anxious  to  hear  the  rest,  told  Lottchen  to 
proceed,  which  she  did  with  evident  relish.  These  were 
the  lines  quoted: 

“ Here  lies  Joan  of  Arc  ; the  which 
Some  count  saints  and  some  count  witch ; 

Some  count  man,  and  something  more ; 

Some  count  maid,  and  some  a whore  ; 

Her  life's  in  question,  wrong  or  right ; 

Her  death' s in  doubt  by  laws  or  might. 

Oh,  innocence  ! take  heed  of  it, 

How  thou,  too,  near  to  guilt  doth  sit. 

(Meantime,  France  a wonder  saw  : 

A woman  rule,  ’gainst  Salic  law !) 

But,  reader,  be  content  to  stay 
Thy  censure  till  the  judgment-day ; 

Then  shalt  thou  know,  and  not  before, 

Whether  saint,  witch,  man,  maid,  or  whoreF 

His  Majesty  never  proposed  the  game  at  his  own  house 
after  this,  at  least  not  when  the  Princess  of  Meiningen  was 
in  the  party. 

“We  must  draw  the  line  somewhere;  she  demoralizes 
our  young  officers,”  says  the  Empress.  And  “I  don’t 
care  if  I do ; virtue  in  a soldier  is  a word  void  of  sense,” 
is  Princess  Charlotte’s  merry  rejoinder. 

Countess  Wartensleben,  a descendant  of  the  lady  of  that 
name  who  became  famous  as  maitresse  en  litre  of  the 
first  King  of  Prussia  after  the  latter’s  impotency  had  been 
a subject  of  diplomatic  correspondence  for  some  time — 
Countess  Wartensleben  tells  me  another  rebus  story  in 
which  the  Emperor  figured. 

It  appears  that  His  Majesty,  at  the  conclusion  of  a 
banquet  arranged  in  his  honor  by  the  officers  of  the  Body 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


145 


Cuirassiers,  in  Breslau  (September  ii,  1890),  proposed  his 
favorite  means  for  killing  time,  and  forthwith  constructed 
the  following  rebus : 


KAISER 


WILHELM 


It  was  too  deep  for  the  ‘‘talent”  present, — some  fifty 
or  sixty  officers, — and  finally  the  Emperor  condescended 
to  explain  the  mystery. 

“Why,  it  means:  Verdict  by  Emperor  William”  (the 
joke  hinges  upon  the  similarity  of  the  German  words 
Uhrtheil^  that  is,  part  of  a clock,  viz.,  the  pendulum, 
and  Urthdly  viz.,  verdict). 

All  applauded  wildly,  all  except  one ; instead  of  admira- 
tion, the  handsome  features  of  Rittmeister  Count  Wartens- 
leben  exhibited  traces  of  a sneer. 

“You  have  a different  solution.  Count,”  exclaimed  Wil- 
liam; “I  see  it  in  your  face.” 

“I  had  one  in  mind.  Your  Majesty;  but,  after  the 
Kaiser  has  spoken,  my  poor  explanation  cannot  be  of  the 
least  account.” 

“Still,  I must  have  it.  Speak  up.” 

“I  beg  Your  Majesty  to  absolve  me  from  that  duty.” 

“I  command  you  to  proceed.” 

Wartensleben  bit  his  lips.  “As  Your  Majesty  knows, 
I am  a Mecklenburger, ” he  said;  “I  learned  my  Fritz 


146 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


Reuter  by  heart.  The  rebus  reminds  me  of  a passage  in 
‘ Durchleuchting,’ — ‘He  goes  this  way,  he  goes  that 
way.’  ” 

Ominous  silence  fell  upon  the  assemblage  after  this  blunt 
speech.  “My  husband  said  that  you  could  hear  the  Colonel 
shake  in  his  boots,”  reported  Madame  von Wartensleben 
when  she  described  the  scene  to  me.  Luckily,  the  Kaiser 
chose  to  treat  the  matter  as  a joke.  “If  that  is  to  be  an 
allusion  to  my  title  of  Reise-Kaiser,  yours  is  not  a bad 
idea,”  he  said,  gathered  up  his  drawing  and  threw  it 
under  the  table. 

“He  goes  this  way,  he  goes  that  way,” — an  animated 
pendulum  swinging  freely  under  the  action  of  a mind  that 
rambles  more  or  less  incoherently  from  one  topic  to 
another,  its  ideas  overthrowing  each  other, — this  Wartens- 
leben (or  his  Reuter)  has  a clearer  notion  of  the  Kaiser’s 
character  than  all  the  rest  of  his  critics. 

Princess  Frederick  Charles’s  caustic  remarks,  quoted  in 
another  chapter,  have  acquainted  us  with  some  of  the 
more  serious  consequences  of  William’s  bridleless  impetu- 
osity; here  follow  some  examples  of  less  importance,  that, 
at  the  same  time,  are  more  pleasant  to  contemplate. 

In  the  middle  of  February,  1892,  when  the  Kaiser  held 
Court  in  the  Berlin  Schloss,  as  usual  in  winter,  I was  about 
to  read  the  newspapers  to  Her  Majesty  one  fine  morning 
when,  unfolding  the  parcel  of  our  daily  literary  allowance, 
I came  across  a copy  of  the  Berliner  Kleines  Journal, — 
organ  of  ces  dames,  that,  of  course,  is  strictly  tabooed  in 
the  imperial  apartments;  somebody  had  smuggled  this 
sheet  into  Auguste  Victoria’s  sanctum  doubtless  for  a well- 
defined  purpose.  Among  the  society  notes  was  a marked 
paragraph,  which  at  once  attracted  Her  Majesty’s  atten- 
tion, and  she  ordered  me  to  read  it  before  I had  time  to 
ascertain  its  contents. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


147 


It  turned  out  to  be  a story  connecting  the  name  of  the 
Emperor’s  adjutant,  Herr  von  Huelsen,  with  that  of  the 
only  daughter  of  General  von  Lucadou  as  a matrimonial 
possibility. 

‘Hncredible  ! ” cried  the  Empress;  ^‘Herr  von  Huelsen 
may  be  a Count  some  day,  and  that  young  woman’s  mother 
is  descended  from  a French  tailor’s  family.” 

“A  very  rich  tailor’s,  though,”  suggested  Fraulein  von 
Gersdorff. 

“Very  likely,”  said  the  Empress,  somewhat  piqued, 
“considering  the  prices  these  Paris  modistes  charge.” 
Then,  turning  to  me.  Her  Majesty  continued:  “Be  good 
enough  to  take  the  paper  to  His  Majesty’s  study,  and 
place  it  on  his  desk,  so  he  may  find  it  upon  his  return. 
This  scandal  must  be  nipped  in  the  bud.” 

When  I reached  the  imperial  antechamber,  the  Kaiser 
had  just  come  in  from  parade,  and,  observing  the  paper  I 
had  in  my  hand,  inquired,  in  his  customary  impulsive  style, 
what  it  meant  ? 

“My  all-highest  mistress  desired  me  to  put  the  Kleines 
Journal  upon  Your  Majesty’s  desk.  It  contains  a refer- 
ence to  Herr  von  Huelsen.” 

“To  Huelsen?  Let  me  see.”  After  reading  the  first 
line  or  two,  he  turned  to  the  chasseur,  who  was  stand- 
ing at  the  door  waiting  to  relieve  him  of  his  riding- 
boots  and  heavy  sabre.  “Fetch  Adjutant  von  Huelsen 
at  once.” 

I was  about  to  withdraw,  but  the  Emperor  stopped  me. 
“Come  into  my  room  for  a moment,”  he  said,  in  his  most 
gracious  style.  “You  shall  be  present  during  Huelsen’s 
examination,  and  then  report  to  Her  Majesty.” 

The  Kaiser  sat  down  upon  the  sofa,  and  studied  the 
paragraph  word  for  word.  Presently,  Major  von  Huelsen 
came  to  ascertain  the  master’s  pleasure. 


148 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


Why  don’t  you  marry  Fraulein  von  Lucadou?”  said 
the  Kaiser,  looking  up  from  the  paper  with  a smile  that 
expressed  good-natured  surprise.  ‘‘You  have  good  uses 
for  her  money,  I should  reckon,  and  in  this  case  I promise 
to  say,  with  my  ancient  colleague  ^Non  olet.'  ” 

“Begging  Your  Majesty’s  pardon,  I cannot  marry  that 
young  lady.” 

“And  why  not,  if  I approve  of  the  match?  ” 

Von  Huelsen  reddened  as  he  answered,  with  a side 
glance  at  me;  “Her  mother  is  up  in  arms  against  me; 
Your  Majesty  remembers  that  little  affair  with  the  actress 
Meyer  ? ’ ’ 

“I  do,  of  course;  but  the  old  woman  must  not  raise 
objections  on  that  account,  which  gave  my  Body  Hussars 
a most  dashing  private.  Tell  me,  honestly,  do  you  want 
the  girl?” 

“Your  Majesty,”  said  the  Major,  with  spirit,  “I  would 
marry  a negress  if  my  Emperor  approved  of  it.” 

“That  white  slave  shall  be  in  your  arms  this  very  day, 
my  word  on  it.”  And,  addressing  me,  his  Majesty  con- 
tinued: “Pray,  Countess,  inform  Her  Majesty  that  every- 
thing has  been  arranged  satisfactorily,  and  that  she  must 
prepare  for  an  early  wedding  banquet  in  Bellevue  Strasse.  ’ ’ 

Twenty  minutes  later  the  Kaiser  ascended  the  stairs  lead- 
ing to  General  von  Lucadou’ s bel  etage,  his  chasseur, 
carrying  a beautiful  bouquet  of  white  roses,  following. 

As  it  happened,  Fraulein  von  Lucadou  was  celebrating 
her  birthday  and  the  splendid  residence  was  en  fete;  but, 
preparations  for  an  influx  of  guests  notwithstanding,  the 
Emperor’s  unannounced  visit  threw  the  big  household  into 
confusion, — a condition  most  favorable  to  His  Majesty’s 
purpose.  To  begin  with,  he  congratulated  Fraulein  von 
Lucadou  before  the  assembled  guests  on  her  betrothal  to 
his  adjutant,  and  then  drew  the  Generalm"  into  a 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


149 


corner  to  extol  to  her  the  afterwise  virtues  of  her  future 
son-in-law. 

“But,”  gasped  the  old  lady,  in  whose  bosom  pride  and 
anger  fought  for  supremacy,  “our  daughter  has  not  my 
consent.  In  fact.  Your  Majesty’s  congratulations  are  based 
upon  a false  presumption.  Even  the  General  has  not 
seriously  considered  Herr  von  Huelsen’s  wooing.” 

“Pshaw!  the  General  will  obey  orders  every  time,” 
bristled  up  His  Majesty;  “and  as  for  you,  gnddige  Frau, 
I hope  you  will  waive  your  objections  when  I tell  you  that 
Huelsen  is  just  the  man  for  your  daughter.” 

Of  course,  Madame  von  Lucadou  had  to  give  in,  and 
soon  afterward  the  wedding  was  celebrated  with  great 
pomp,  the  Kaiser  and  Kaiserin,  by  their  presence,  lending 
additional  splendor  to  the  ceremonies  and  the  banquet. 

In  this  case,  as  in  most  other  unimportant  issues,  where  the 
fascination  of  the  imperial  name  holds  good,  or  where  an 
“ all-highest  command,”  addressed  to  official  or  semi-official 
persons,  is  law,  the  Kaiser  gained  his  point,  and  for  weeks 
afterward  spoke  exultingly  of  his  “taming  of  the  shrew,” 
for  as  such,  Madame  /a  Generate  has  a well-deserved  repu- 
tation. As  for  Herr  von  Huelsen,  though  the  Emperor’s  in- 
terference gained  him  a rich  and  handsome  wife,  his  troubles 
had  only  begun.  His  mother-in-law  nee  Sehstern-Pauli, 
with  whom  the  Lucadou  fortune  originated,  gave  to  the 
young  couple  a beautiful  residence  adjoining  her  own  palace, 
furnishing  it  magnificently ; but  as,  at  the  same  time,  she 
insisted  upon  staying  with  her  daughter  from  early  morning 
till  late  at  night,  this  splendid  home  soon  resembled  a very 
warm  place  in  Herr  von  Huelsen’s  eyes, — the  “hottest  on 
or  under  the  earth,”  he  assured  me  in  a burst  of  confidence. 

“Tell  the  Kaiser’ of  the  wretchedness  his  Schadchen- 
industry  carried  in  its  wake, — he  must  take  pity  on  his 
favorite,”  I advised  the  disconsolate  Benedict. 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


150 

Not  for  a million,  Your  Ladyship ; he  is  capable  of 
driving  stante  pede  to  Bellevue  Strasse  to  demand  an  ex- 
planation.” 

However,  the  story  of  poor  von  Huelsen’s  sorrows  finally 
reached  the  Emperor’s  ears,  and  he  sent  his  adjutant  to 
Vienna  as  military  plenipotentiary  after  first  conferring 
upon  him  the  title  and  name  of  Count  Haeseler,  which  had 
become  extinct  by  the  death  of  the  adjutant’s  maternal 
grandfather,  the  last  of  the  noble  house. 

A great  many  diplomatic  appointments  are  made  in  that 
fashion  under  William  II,  as  will  be  shown  in  the  chapter 
devoted  to  the  Kaiser  and  his  personal  friends.  A whim, 
a word,  a woman  that  is  not  even  “well  born,”  according 
to  ultra-German  notions,— these  three  W’s  suffice  to  raise 
anybody,  though  he  may  be  a nobody,  to  a position 
of  international  importance  in  the  German  Empire  of 
to-day. 

Not  long  ago  I was  reading  to  their  Majesties  from  the 
collection  of  letters  which  the  Duchess  of  Orleans,  Princess 
Palatine,  addressed  to  Queen  Charlotte  of  Prussia  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  to  which  I alluded 
in  a previous  chapter. 

“I  know  of  many  great  events  that  historians  have 
attributed  to  policy  or  ambition,  but  which  originated  from 
most  insignificant  trifles,”  said  the  confidante  of  Louis  XIV 
in  one  of  her  long,  gossipy  epistles.  “Louis,  for  instance, 
retired  from  the  present  war  against  Holland  solely  for  the 
purpose  of  returning  to  that  old  Zottel  (demi-rep)  of  a 
Montespan  and  to  pursue  once  more  his  nightly  revels  in 
her  foul  embraces.” 

The  Empress  shuddered,  and  told  me  never  again  to  read 
from  “ Madame’ s”  letters  at  random,  as  I had  been  doing 
under  orders  previously  given;  “Herr  von  der  Knese- 
beck  will  make  extracts  and  selections  from  the  Duchess’s 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  151 

writings  for  future  use/’  she  said,  beaming  sweetly  on  the 
pious  chamberlain. 

“I  cannot  conceive  your  object  in  wishing  for  an 
abridged  edition  of  these  letters,”  remarked  the  Kaiser, 
who  seemed  to  be  annoyed  at  the  idea;  ‘‘the  Duchess 
had  certainly  the  grand  airs  of  one  born  in  the  purple, 
though  her  language  is  that  of  the  period, — blunt,  even 
coarse  at  times.  Still,  with  all  that,  her  letters  must 
be  read  in  their  entirety.  A God-fearing  censor,  such  as 
your  Knesebeck  here,  would  probably  have  eliminated  the 
passage  we  just  heard,  though  it  is  one  of  the  grandest  and 
most  characteristic  in  her  hundred  or  more  letters  in  the 
Potsdam  and  Charlottenburg  archives. 

“The  Duchess  takes  pains  to  show  that  the  morals  of 
the  French  Court  are  distasteful  to  her ; she  rails  against 
the  King’s  mistress,  she  even  seems  to  deplore  the  abrupt 
ending  of  the  hostilities,  but  has  not  one  word  of  criticism 
for  the  King’s  Majesty.  Reverently  and  silently  she  acqui- 
esces in  the  all-highest  decision : the  King  pleased  to  do 
a certain  thing,  therefore  it  behooves  the  subject  to  sub- 
mit to  his  will  in  silence.  That  is  as  it  should  be.  This 
one  paragraph  is  worth  whole  volumes  of  theoretical  teach- 
ings on  the  doctrine  of  Kingship  by  the  grace  of  God.  If 
its  general  contents  did  not  make  it  unfit  for  such  use,  I 
would  have  it  inserted  in  all  the  Readers  and  similar 
school-books.” 

The  Menzel  festival  in  Sans  Souci  (June,  1895)  was  like- 
wise arranged  by  the  Kaiser  on  the  spur  of  the  moment. 
During  a conversation  dealing  with  the  artist’s  forthcom- 
ing eightieth  birthday,  somebody  had  remarked  upon  the 
treatment  Menzel  suffered  at  the  hands  of  Frederick  Wil- 
liam IV’ s Court-marshal,  the  late  Count  Keller,  who  did  not 
even  deign  to  answer  his  request  when  Menzel  asked  to  be 
allowed  to  see  Frederick  the  Great’s  historical  Music  Room 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


^52 

by  candle-light  previous  to  putting  the  finishing-touches 
to  his  celebrated  painting,  ‘‘The  Flute  Concert  at  Sans 
Souci.” 

“Maybe  he  was  frightened  at  the  prospect  of  furnish- 
ing a couple  of  dozen  wax  candles,”  sneered  the  Duke  of 
Schleswig. 

“ More  likely  he  knew  nothing  of  Menzel’s  growing 
reputation,”  suggested  Vegas,  the  sculptor. 

The  Emperor  overheard  the  last  words,  and  joined  Her 
Majesty,  who  was  holding  petit  cercle  in  the  Tassen 
Zimmer. 

“Are  you  prepared  to  say  that  my  granduncle’s  chief 
marshal  failed  to  recognize  the  genius  of  the  foremost 
Hohenzollern  painter?”  he  asked,  sharply. 

“I  would  not  like  to  libel  a dead  man,”  answered 
Vegas,  “but  appearances  are  certainly  against  the  Count. 
I have  it  from  Menzel’s  own  lips  that  the  Court-marshal 
refused  him  all  and  every  assistance  when  he  was  painting 
his  scenes  of  life  in  Sans  Souci.  The  rooms  of  the  chateau 
were  accessible  to  him  only  to  the  same  extent  as  to  any 
other  paying  visitor  or  the  hordes  of  foreign  tourists,  and 
he  had  to  make  his  sketches  piecemeal,  gathering  corrobo- 
rative and  additional  material  in  museums  and  picture- 
galleries.” 

Quick  as  a flash  the  Kaiser  turned  to  Count  Eulenburg. 
“I  shall  repay  the  debt  Prussia  owes  to  Menzel,”  he 
spoke,  not  without  declamatory  effort.  “We  will  have 
the  representation  of  the  Sans  Souci  flute  concert  three 
days  hence.  Your  programme  is  to  be  ready  to-morrow 
morning  at  ten.  Menzel,  mind  you,  must  know  nothing 
of  this ; merely  command  him  to  attend  us  at  the  Schloss 
at  supper  and  a musical  evening.”  .And,  turning  round, 
he  said  to  Her  Majesty:  “You  will  impersonate  Princess 
Amalia,  and  you,  Kessel  ’ ’ (Adjutant  von  Kessel,  then 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


153 


Commander  of  the  First  Guards),  engage  all  your  tallest 
and  best-looking  officers  to  enact  the  great  King’s  military 
household.  ’ ’ 

Again  the  Kaiser  addressed  Count  Eulenburg : Be  sure 
to  have  the  best  artists  of  the  Royal  Orchestra  perform 
Frederick  the  Great’s  compositions,  and  let  Joachim  be 
engaged  for  the  occasion.”  Saying  this,  he  took  Her 
Majesty’s  arm,  and,  bidding  his  guests  and  the  Court  a 
hasty  good-night,  strode  out  of  the  apartment. 

Count  Eulenburg  had  scarcely  opened  his  mouth  to  pro- 
nounce the  usual  phrase : Ladies  and  gentlemen,  their 
Majesties  have  no  further  commands  for  you  to-night,” 
when  Countess  Brockdorff  and  myself  were  summoned  to 
the  Kaiserin’s  dressing-room.  Her  Majesty  was  pacing 
the  floor.  Help  me  think  ! ” she  cried  ; ‘‘  where  shall  I 
get  a costume  in  so  short  a time  ? Even  if  we  telegraph 
to  Vienna  this  very  hour,  the  dress  could  not  be  finished 
and  reach  here  in  due  season.” 

I found  it  difficult  to  remain  patient  with  my  mistress. 
‘‘As  the  miller  pointed  out  to  Frederick  the  Great,  that 
there  is  a Chancellor’s  Court  in  Berlin,  so  I might  suggest 
to  Your  Imperial  Majesty  that  the  capital  affords  some  very 
respectable  costumers,  and  that  the  satin  and  velvet  neces- 
sary for  the  over  and  under  dress  can  be  procured  at  any 
shop  Unter  den  Linden,”  I remarked. 

“Her  Ladyship  is  right,”  said  Countess  Brockdorff, 
“ but  ” — this  malicious  woman  would  sooner  think  of  fly- 
ing than  praise  somebody  without  a “but”  to  offset  her 
own  note  of  approval — “ but,  as  you  know,  the  Kaiser 
desires  Her  Majesty  to  represent  a historical  personage 
noted  for  her  fondness  of  silver  and  gold  embroidery. 
The  underdress  and  the  train  of  the  costume  must  be 
richly  ornamented.  How  will  you  accomplish  this  in  so 
short  a time  ? ” 


154 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


‘^With  Her  Majesty’s  permission,”  I answered,  I will 
once  more  cite  an  example  from  Prussian  history.  When 
the  victorious  King  ordered  the  ceremony  of  swearing  alle- 
giance in  Breslau  at  twelve  hours’  notice,  the  only  cloth  of 
state  on  hand  for  covering  the  throne  and  canopy  was  of 
the  Austrian  variety;  that  is,  sprinkled  with  two-headed 
eagles.  ^ Never  mind,’  said  the  King,  ‘cut  out  one  head 
and  the  Prussian  bird  of  prey  is  ready.’  So  we  might 
overhaul  Her  Majesty’s  chests  of  laces  and  precious  em- 
broideries and,  I am  sure,  obtain  material  enough  for 
a dozen  costumes,  and — without  cutting  off  anybody’s 
head,”  I could  not  constrain  myself  to  add. 

My  advice  was  followed  on  the  spot,  and  the  Kaiserin 
personally  accompanied  Countess  Brockdorff  and  myself  to 
the  wardrobe-rooms,  while  next  morning,  by  the  earliest 
train,  the  grand-mistress  and  Frau  Gleim  repaired  to  Ber- 
lin to  continue  the  investigation  in  the  Schloss.  On  the 
evening  of  the  fHe  day,  the  Empress  herself  admitted  that 
my  overconfidence  had  been  justified  by  the  results  attained. 

To  tell  the  truth,  Auguste  Victoria  never  looked  better 
than  in  the  picturesque  costume  of  the  royal  Abbess  of 
Quedlinburg,  though  she  is  really  the  last  person  in  the 
world  resembling  Amalia,  who,  at  the  period  depicted, 
“was  as  beautiful  as  an  angel,  and  the  most  joyous  and 
affable  King’s  daughter  ever  described  in  old  patrician 
literature.”  Her  Majesty’s  dress  consisted  of  a petticoat 
of  sea-green  satin,  richly  ornamented  with  silver  lace  of 
antique  pattern,  and  an  overdress  of  dark  velvet  embroid- 
ered with  gold  and  set  with  precious  stones.  On  her 
powdered  hair,  amplified  by  one  of  Herr  Adeljana,  the 
Vienna  coiffeur’s,  most  successful  “creations,”  sat  a jaunty 
three-cornered  hat,  having  a blazing  aigrette  of  large  dia- 
monds in  front,  the  identical  cluster  of  white  stones  which 
figured  at  the  great  Napoleon’s  coronation,  and  which  he 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


155 


lost,  together  with  his  entire  equipage,  in  the  battle  of 
Waterloo. 

In  her  ears  Her  Majesty  wore  pearl  ornaments  repre- 
senting a small  bunch  of  cherries.  Like  the  aigrette, 
they  are  Crown  property,  and  that  Auguste  Victoria 
thought  well  enough  of  the  jewels  to  rescue  them  from 
oblivion  for  this  occasion  was  certainly  most  appropriate. 

Make  a note  of  it,  thou  firi-de-siede  reader,  historic 
romance  is  not  dead,  as  some  of  our  novelists  would  fain 
make  us  believe ; that  graceful  offspring  of  love  and  lore 
merely  slumbers  in  a moth-proof  cedar  chest,  and,  on  rare 
occasions,  steps  gaily  forward  to  recall  to  the  minds  of  the 
initiated  memories  of  ancient  splendor. 

Know,  then,  that  those  priceless  gems  in  Her  Majesty’s 
ears  belonged  at  one  time  to  the  great  Frederick’s  lovely 
mistress.  La  Barbarina,  as  Rosalba  Carriera’s  famous  pastel 
of  the  dancer  in  the  Dresden  gallery,  and  furthermore  a 
large  painting  which  hung  for  nearly  a century  and  a half 
in  a privy  of  the  gray  Schloss  on  the  Spree,  prove.  Accord- 
ing to  an  old-time  inventory,  the  canvas  had  been  placed 
in  that  unseemly  environment  by  all-highest  order,  to  ‘‘the 
Frauenzimmed s lasting  shame,”  when,  in  1748,  King  and 
ballerina  quarrelled.  And  that  despicable  mode  of  punish- 
ment, worthy  of  a century  that  tolerated  the  most  loathsome 
personal  uncleanliness  while  striving  for  artistic  perfection, 
remained  in  force  until  the  Schloss  was  partly  rebuilt 
by  the  present  Kaiser.  The  canvas,  a work  of  Vanloo,  is 
now  stored  with  a lot  of  rubbish  in  Castle  Bellevue,  in  the 
Thiergarten. 

Barbarina’s  jewels  in  the  Prussian  Crown  treasury ! 
How  they  got  there  would  certainly  be  a most  interesting 
question  to  solve.  Was  it  the  warrior-Leander’s  “good 
pleasure  ’ ’ to  tie  a string  to  his  presents,  or  did  Barbarina 
share  the  fate  of  Voltaire  after  dismissal,  and  was  overtaken 


156 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


on  the  road  to  the  frontier  by  Prussian  hussars  (as  the 
French  philosopher  was  on  his  way  to  Switzerland)  and 
robbed  of  the  negotiable  souvenirs  of  royal  favor? 

The  Kaiser  himself  came  to  inspect  our  masquerade 
before  we  entered  upon  our  short  drive  to  Sans  Souci. 
All  the  ladies  wore  costumes  resembling  that  of  Her 
Majesty, — flowered  silk  petticoats,  velvet  overdresses  puffed 
up  at  the  hips,  colored  silk  stockings,  and  satin  slippers 
with  high,  red  heels  d la  Duval  and  silver  buckles;  also 
towering  coiffures  set  off  by  ostrich-tips.  In  this  fetch- 
ing dress.  Lady  of  the  Court,  Countess  von  Bassewitz, 
looked  so  uncommonly  well  that  the  Kaiser,  who  is  not 
used  to  such  surprises  in  his  wife’s  entourage,  let  his  eyes 
rest  upon  her  graceful  figure  and  pretty  face  for  quite  a 
while,  until  Her  Majesty  impatiently  proposed  a hurried 
departure. 

The  Kaiser  wore  the  cuirassier  uniform  of  the  great 
Frederick’s  period,  a highly-ornamental  dress  that  suited 
the  war-lord,  who  was  painted  and  powdered  to  perfec- 
tion, extremely  well,  especially  as  Wellington  boots,  a very 
becoming  wig,  and  his  strange  head-gear  really  and  seem- 
ingly added  to  his  figure,  while  his  usually  stern  face 
beamed  pleasantly  under  the  powder  and  rouge,  laid  on 
by  expert  hands. 

At  the  grand  portals  of  Sans  Souci  their  Majesties  were 
ceremoniously  received  by  Colonel  von  Kessel,  who  was 
uniformed  like  the  Emperor  and  had  under  his  command  a 
company  of  giant  grenadiers  clad  in  the  old-time  blue  and 
red  coats,  long  white  leggings  reaching  above  the  knees, 
and  gilded  tin  helmets  backed  with  scarlet  on  powdered 
wigs. 

The  scene  of  Menzel’s  picture,  Frederick’s  Music  Room, 
is  the  second  apartment  on  the  right  after  the  dining-hall, 
which  forms  the  centre  of  the  chateau. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


157 


We  found  it  brilliantly  lit  up  with  wax  candles,  too 
luminous  to  represent  the  original  of  the  masterpiece  and 
certainly  far  more  resplendent  with  light  than  the  miserly 
King  would  have  permitted,  of  whom  it  is  reported  that  he 
compelled  his  Queen  and  the  Queen-Mother  to  await  his 
coming  in  the  White  Hall  of  the  Berlin  Schloss  previous  to 
the  great  state  functions,  by  the  light  of  a single  taper. 
Not  until  Frederick  himself  appeared  among  the  guests 
and  officials,  durst  the  candles  on  the  chandeliers  and 
candelabra  be  lit. 

Like  other  members  of  the  Court  and  society,  I had  heard 
a great  deal  of  William’s  predilection  for  stage  manage- 
ment, but  never  had  had  occasion  to  witness  the  exercises 
of  this  particular  gift  on  the  Kaiser’s  part.  Imagine  my 
surprise  when,  suddenly,  I found  myself  in  the  midst  of  a 
full-dress  rehearsal ! 

In  one  corner  of  the  room,  huddled  together  like  a 
flock  of  frightened  sheep,  stood  the  artists  engaged  for 
the  occasion.  All  wore  the  eighteenth-century  Court  cos- 
tume,— long-skirted  vests  and  silk  or  velvet  coats,  col- 
ored satin  breeches,  buckled  shoes,  and  imposing  allonge 
perruques. 

“Attention ! ” cried  the  Kaiser,  and  he  began  to  call  out 
their  names  without  taking  the  trouble  to  affix  the  customary 
“Herr,”  while  an  imperious  gesture  of  his  gloved  hand 
assigned  each  man  to  his  post. 

At  the  historic  grand  piano,  which  was  once  enlivened 
by  the  slender  fingers  of  Princess  Amalia,  perhaps  the 
greatest  virtuoso  of  her  time,  a middle-aged  artist  was 
placed,  whose  make-up  resembled  the  features  of  Philip 
Emanuel  Bach,  Frederick’s  accompanist.  To  his  right 
the  Kaiser  posted  a viola-player,  representing  Franz  Benda 
of  by-gone  days,  and  behind  them  came  two  performers  on 
the  violoncello  and  finally  two  violinists. 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


158 

The  great  King  was  impersonated  by  a small,  thin  man 
of  noble  countenance,  who  held  between  his  fingers  an 
exact  counterpart  of  Frederick’s  favorite  flute. 

Having  placed  these  gentlemen  in  position,  the  Kaiser 
had  a copy  of  Menzel’s  painting  brought  in,  and  pointed 
out  the  figure  each  represented.  “Now,  first  violin,”  rang 
out  his  drill-ground  voice,  “give  more  attention  to  holding 
your  head ! ” “The  piano-player  must  turn  his  face  a little 
sideways  ! ” “ The  ’cellists  must  bend  down  a bit ! ” 

“That  is  right;  now  all  remember  that  you  are  expect- 
ing your  cue  from  the  royal  soloist.” 

Turning  from  the  musicians.  His  Majesty  called  out : 
“Where  are  Quanz”  (Frederick’s  music-teacher),  “Graun” 
(the  composer),  “and  Maupertuis?” 

Three  actors  from  the  royal  play-house  responded. 

“You  have  studied  your  parts?”  said  the  Kaiser,  inquir- 
ingly; “well,  then,  proceed  to  your  various  corners,  and  do 
not  take  notice  of  any  one  in  the  room.  Play  your  parts 
as  if  you  stood  on  a real  stage,  with  the  Kaiser  in  his  box.” 

In  the  same  manner  the  ladies  of  the  Court  were  ordered 
about,  and  the  Empress  herself  did  not  fare  better. 

“ Countess  Bassewitz ! ” shouted  the  royal  stage-manager, 
as  if  he  were  addressing  a coryphee,  “please  remember  that 
the  Margravine  of  Baireuth,  whom  you  have  the  honor  to 
represent,  was  not  only  noted  for  beauty  and  grace,  but 
also  for  her  truly  royal  airs.  ’ ’ 

Her  little  Ladyship  blushed  and  moved  uneasily  on  the 
red  silk  sofa  where  she  sat  with  Countess  Camas,  whom 
Frederick  used  to  call  his  chere  maman. 

Behind  the  chair  of  Madame  von  Camas,  the  Kaiser  put 
an  officer,  a somewhat  awkward  young  man,  who  had  to 
change  his  position  half  a dozen  times  before  it  suited  His 
Majesty,  and  then  came  the  most  difficult  task  of  all, — the 
placing  of  the  Empress. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


159 


We  ladies  had  studied  the  part  of  Princess  Amalia  with 
Her  Majesty  incessantly  for  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  but 
Auguste  Victoria  seemed  utterly  unable  to  enter  into  the 
spirit  of  the  tableau.  Seeing  her  failure,  she  affected 
physical  reasons  for  her  nervousness,  while  everybody  saw 
with  regret  that  the  Kaiser’s  imperious  manner  had  com- 
pletely disconcerted  the  royal  Lady.  In  His  Majesty’s 
eyes  this  novice  was  the  least  satisfactory  of  all ; she  neither 
‘‘understood  how  to  hold  a fan,  nor  how  to  look  interested,” 
and  the  scene  was  becoming  very  painful,  when,  to  every- 
body’s relief.  House-marshal  Baron  von  Lyncker  appeared 
and  announced  that  Professor  Menzel’s  carriage  was  ap- 
proaching. Thereupon  the  Emperor  left  at  once  to  assume 
his  character  as  Frederick  the  Great’s  Adjutant-General  in 
the  vestibule.  We  all  breathed  freer  now,  especially  as 
Herr  von  Lyncker,  the  stage-manager — substitute,  made  us 
feel  quite  easy  in  our  parts  by  a few  words  of  approval. 

Menzel  had  meanwhile  alighted  at  the  grand  entrance, 
and  ascended  the  stairs,  wondering  at  the  display  of  old- 
time  military.  The  little  old  man  wore  shabby  evening 
dress,  and  an  overcoat  over  his  arm,  and  his  surprise  knew 
no  bounds  when  Colonel  von  Kessel  stepped  forward  to 
welcome  him  with  a ceremonious  speech.  When,  how- 
ever, von  Kessel  having  “spoken  his  piece,”  the  Kaiser 
himself  marched  up  solemnly  in  his  strange  uniform,  hat 
in  hand,  the  artist  perceived  at  once  that  he  was  to  be 
the  victim  of  an  ovation  and  with  much  dignity  submitted 
to  the  ordeal.  For  such  it  turned  out  to  be.  AVilliam, 
unbeknown  to  all  except  the  master  of  ceremony,  had  imi- 
tated his  ancestor  in  one  more  respect,  and  there  was  no 
Voltaire  to  wash  this  King  of  Prussia’s  “dirty  linen.” 

As  Prince  Bismarck  put  it  (I  owe  the  anecdote  to  the 
great  Chancellor’s  physician  and  confidant.  Dr.  Sch Wennin- 
ger), “he  stepped  into  the  lowest  department  of  literature, 


i6o 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


occasional  poetry,  and  bonabarded  the  helpless  master  with 
forty  stanzas  of  alleged  verse  in  which  the  deeds  of  Prus- 
sia’s kings  and  the  masterpieces  that  commemorate  them 
were  extolled  with  a prosiness  that  sounded  like  an  after- 
clap of  William’s  Reichstag  and  monument  orations.” 

The  length,  if  not  the  dulness,  of  the  discourse  had, 
however,  one  good  effect : it  gave  Menzel  ample  time  to 
formulate  a fitting  reply,  and,  bowing  low  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  tirade,  he  said,  with  perfect  sang-froid:  “I  believe 
I have  the  honor  of  addressing  Adjutant-General  Baron 
von  Leutulus,  and  I beg  of  Your  Excellency  to  submit  to 
His  Majesty,  the  King,  my  sincerest  thanks  for  this  unex- 
pected honor.” 

The  artist  having  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  thing, 
the  Kaiser’s  impromptu  farce  proceeded  smoothly.  First 
of  all  came  the  obligatory  review  of  the  guards,  who 
had  to  go  through  some  old-time  exercises;  then  Baron 
von  Lyncker  ordered  the  mixed  company  in  the  Music 
Room  — Empress,  ladies-in-waiting,  actors,  officers,  and 
fiddlers — to  assume  the  poses  and  duties  assigned  to  each 
individually. 

The  master  was  allowed  to  contemplate  the  prototype  of 
his  chef-d' ceuvre  for  a little  while  before  he  took  his  seat; 
but  soon  the  Emperor,  sitting  by  his  side,  gave  the  signal 
to  the  musicians,  who  intonated  Frederick’s  flute  concert, 
doubtless  the  finest  composition  that  emanated  from  the 
great  King’s  prolific  pen. 

Later  on,  the  players  performed  a piano  concert  by 
Prince  Louis  Ferdinand  of  Prussia,  the  young  and  enthu- 
siastic gentleman  who  is  credited  with  having  been  the 
lover  of  Madame  Recamier  and  Madame  de  Stael  at  the 
same  time  (Napoleon  threatened  to  shut  him  up  with 
the  latter  in  some  lonely  castle,  and  exhibit  their  offspring 
at  the  country  fairs  as  horrible  examples  of  the  union  of 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  l6l 

pedantry  with  bottomless  conceit),  and  finally  Joachim 
fascinated  us  all  by  the  noblest  rendition  of  Sebastian 
Bach’s  masterpieces. 

We  supped  in  the  Marble  Hall,  whose  superb  cupola  rests 
upon  sixteen  white  pillars  from  Carrara,  but  the  Kaiser’s 
attempt  to  establish  a round  table”  resembling  that  of 
his  ancestor  was  a failure.  It  is  easy  enough  to  arrange  a 
mummery, — money  and  a little  tailor’s  sense  will  do  for 
that ; but  it  is  quite  another  thing  to  copy  a Voltaire 
‘^eloquent  as  Cicero,  witty  as  Plinius,  and  as  learned  as 
Agrippa;”  a La  Mettrie,  D’Argens,  Algarotti,  or  even  a 
General  Quintus  Icilius.  And  it  takes  more  than  royal 
birth  and  fine  jewels  to  impersonate  a Princess  Amalia, 
and  more  than  beauty  of  face  and  a pair  of  graceful  shoul- 
ders, such  as  the  Countess  Bassewitz  possesses,  to  represent 
the  witty  Margravine  ! 

While  their  Majesties  and  the  company,  after  supper, 
were  admiring  the  illuminated  fountain,  then  the  latest  of 
novelties,  I went  once  more  into  the  Music  Room,  where 
the  wax  lights  were  burning  at  low  ebb. 

This,  then,  had  been  the  theatre  of  Frederick’s  love- 
making  ; here  reigned  the  sole  queen  of  his  heart,  the  only 
woman  whom  he  loved  after  ascending  the  throne,  as  all 
contemporaries,  from  Abb6  Denina  to  Voltaire,  assert. 

Portraits  of  this  famous  beauty  between  high  mirrors 
in  silver  frames  all  around  the  room, — Venus-Barbarina 
coquetting  with  Pygmalion;  Pomona-Barbarina  yielding 
gracefully  to  the  masked  demi-god ; Diana-Barbarina  slum- 
bering while  pretty  nymphs  mount  guard  over  her;  Bar- 
barina embraced  by  Apollo;  Barbarinaand  Pan;  Barbarina, 
the  genius  of  Love;  Barbarina  the  woman,  clad  only  in 
her  surpassing  grace,  her  supernatural  loveliness,  the  glori- 
ous black  hair  unsullied  by  powder,  her  breasts  and  limbs 
radiant  with  the  voluptuousness  of  southern  youth  ! 


1 62  PRIVATE  LIVES  OF  WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 

Antoine  Pesne,  painter  to  the  King,  expended  all  his 
genius  as  a colorist  of  the  schools  of  Giorgione  and  Titian, 
all  his  true  artistic  intensity  of  feeling,  on  these  canvases, 
which  happily  saw  the  light  before  the  renaissance  of  the 
yellowish  Rembrandt  tint,  that  annoys  the  lover  of  art  in 
the  majority  of  portraits  of  a somewhat  later  period.  Pesne 
was  first  and  last  a portrait-painter ; but  the  King’s  desire  to 
see  the  beloved  woman  in  all  sorts  of  attitudes,  in  classical 
garb  and  without,  gave  his  magic  brush  a far  wider  field. 
Henceforth  he  devoted  himself  to  composing  grand  myth- 
ological scenes  in  which  La  Barbarina  formed  the  central 
figure  and  where  unblushingly  he  drew  the  veil  from  the 
charms  of  her  person. 

I was  contemplating  these  reminiscences  in  silent  reverie 
when  the  door  opened  and  the  Kaiser  came  in  with  little 
Menzel. 

I have  a mind  to  engage  Angeli  to  paint  Her  Majesty’s 
picture  in  the  costume  of  Princess  Amalia,”  said  the  Em- 
peror. “What  do  you  think  of  it?” 

“ Angeli  is  painter  to  many  emperors  and  kings,”  replied 
the  professor,  and  I saw  him  smile  • diplomatically  as  he 
moved  his  spectacles  to  get  a better  view  of  the  allegorical 
canvas  on  the  left  wall  that  exhibits  the  nude  figure  of  the 
famous  mistress  in  its  entirety. 

“ I am  glad  you  agree  with  me  on  that  point,”  said  the 
Emperor,  impatient  to  execute  the  idea  that  had  just  crossed 
his  mind.  “I  will  telegraph  to  him  to-night.” 

And  when,  five  minutes  later,  Menzel  bent  over  my  hand 
to  take  his  formal  leave,  I heard  him  murmur  in  his  dry, 
absent-minded  manner:  “Pesne — Angeli — Frederick  the 
Great— William  II ! ” 


CHAPTER  VIII 


Has  anybody  heard  of  the  projected  English  tour  of  the 
Meiningens?”  asked  His  Majesty  at  dinner  in  the  Berlin 
Schloss  one  afternoon  in  February,  1892. 

Herr  von  Egloff stein  responded.  He  had  heard  the 
Hereditary  Prince  say  that  he  and  the  Princess  intended 
to  accept  an  invitation  of  Queen  Victoria  to  Windsor 
Castle. 

‘‘But  the  cost!”  exclaimed  the  Kaiser;  “it  will  be  at 
least  ten  marks  a head  for  their  Highnesses  every  day  they 
are  absent.” 

Next  day,  at  second  breakfast,  the  Emperor’s  menu  card, 
on  which  His  Majesty  had  sketched  “the  future  south  front 
of  the  castle  with  the  surrounding  territory,”  was  handed 
around  the  table. 

“I  am  glad  to  announce  to  you,”  he  said,  after  all  had 
expressed  due  admiration,  “that  I have  perfected  my  plans 
for  the  improvement  of  the  Schloss.  After  abolishing  the 
popular  amusement  of  looking  into  the  Kaiser’s  windows” 
(His  Majesty  referred  to  the  dismantling  of  the  houses  on 
the  Schloss  Freiheit,  where  now  the  monument  of  William  I 
stands,  and  which  was  formerly  occupied  by  a row  of  de- 
crepit old  houses  and  shanties  whose  inhabitants  had  a very 
good  view  of  the  imperial  apartments  opposite), — “after 
routing  the  sweet  plebs  across  the  way,  I have  decided  to 
erect  another  barrier  between  myself  and  publicity.  As 
the  sketch  shows,  terraces  will  be  built  adjoining  the  south 

163 


164 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


front  of  our  palace,  and  they  will  extend  far  enough  to 
place  within  the  royal  precinct  that  part  of  the  castle 
square  that  lies  between  the  Schloss  and  the  great  foun- 
tain. These  terraces,”  added  the  Kaiser,  with  a self- 
satisfied  laugh,  “will  at  the  same  time  serve  to  deaden 
some  of  the  noise  from  the  incessant  traffic.” 

“Will  the  city  be  willing  to  sacrifice  the  space?”  asked 
the  Prince  of  Saxe-Altenburg,  who  was  the  guest  of  honor 
that  day. 

“If  I permit  the  razing  of  the  old  houses  between 
Breite  Strasse  and  Kurfiirsten  Briicke,  certainly,”  replied 
the  Kaiser,  who  was  still  smiling. 

“But  the  scheme,  if  pushed  to  such  length,  will  involve 
an  outlay  of  twenty  millions,”  warned  the  Minister  of  the 
royal  house,  Herr  von  Wedell. 

“ Maybe,  more  or  less.”  The  Emperor  said  this  with  a 
frown,  but  immediately  resumed  his  semi-bantering  tone, 
and  added,  lightly : “ Perhaps  I will  authorize  Your  Ex- 
cellency to  arrange  another  Schloss  Improvement  Lottery, 
or  to  take  up  a loan  that  holds  out  large  premiums,  as  they 
do  in  Austria  and  Servia.”  With  that  he  turned  to  his 
neighbor,  the  Countess  Brockdorff,  whom  he  detests  and 
ordinarily  treats  with  the  severest  indifference,  and,  by  way 
of  changing  the  subject,  told  her  a rather  risque  story  of 
a little  boy,  who,  being  disturbed  in  the  night,  asked  his 
father  what  was  the  matter.  The  father’s  reply  is  too  well 
known  to  be  printed  here. 

“Oh,  bother  the  brother!  ” cried  Johnny;  “make  me 
one  of  those  rabbits  with  pink  eyes.” 

Poor  Brockdorff  nearly  fainted,  and  looked  helplessly 
around  the  table,  while  the  Emperor  slapped  his  knee  and 
seemed  ready  to  burst  with  laughter.  “It  is  the  very 
latest,”  he  said  to  His  Highness  of  Saxe;  **got  it  from 
Kotze”  (then  still  a master  of  ceremony);  “he  heard  it 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  1 65 

from  his  wife,  who  learned  it  from  Schrader”  (another 
master  of  ceremony,  who  was  subsequently  shot  and  killed 
by  his  colleague  in  the  famous  duel),  “and  Schrader 
credits  it  to  Otero.” 

That  is  the  Kaiser  all  over ; it  worries  him  to  think  that 
any  of  his  relatives  should  spend  ten  marks,  and  he  dis- 
poses of  ten  or  twenty  millions  of  public  moneys  as  if  they 
were  old  bricks  or  oyster-shells ; in  fact,  the  Kaiser  has  no 
notion  whatever  of  the  value  of  the  “yellow  boys.” 

Among  the  many  strange  facts  in  this  volume,  William’s 
remark  concerning  the  Meiningens’  trip  to  England  is  cer- 
tainly not  the  least  astonishing,  coming  from  a man  who 
is  almost  continuously  on  the  road, — the  heir  and  heir- 
ess to  a Duchy,  paying  a visit  of  state  at  Windsor  Castle, 
covering  their  combined  expenses  with  a paltry  five  dollars 
a day  ! The  surmisal  is  too  ridiculous  to  require  analysis ; 
but  it  might  be  just  as  well  to  state  here  that  the  Prince  of 
Meiningen  is  a very  rich  man,  although  the  bulk  of  his 
fortune  is  still  in  the  hands  of  the  reigning  Duke  and  the 
latter’s  third  wife,  the  former  actress  Helen  Franz,  called 
Baroness  Heldburg.  He  lives,  if  not  in  splendor,  in  the 
style  befitting  his  station,  and  his  wife  is  certainly  the  best- 
dressed  woman  at  Court. 

On  their  travels  the  princely  pair  are  always  attended  by 
a suite  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  people,  all  of  whom,  the 
Emperor  thinks,  can  be  provided  with  transportation  and 
incidentals  for  twenty  marks  per  day ! That  Her  Majesty 
of  England  sent  a very  large  check  to  the  Prince  of  Mein- 
ingen to  defray  the  expenses  of  his  visit,  as  I happen  to 
know,  does  not  alter  the  case  one  whit,  for  William  was, 
and  is  probably  up  to  this  day,  ignorant  of  the  fact. 

“It  is  merely  a matter  of  mistaken  identity,”  said 
“Lottchen’s”  husband,  when  the  Prince  of  Saxe  reported 
the  conversation  to  him ; “ William  thinks  I am  one  of 


i66 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


my  gamekeepers,  as  he  once  mistook  Bismarck  for  his  chief 
bootblack.  ’ ’ 

That  was  certainly  a charitable  view  to  take ; but  it  does 
not  coincide  with  the  facts.  The  cold,  precise  truth  is 
that  the  man  striving  for  absolute  power  in  Germany  and 
in  Prussia,  whose  combined  annual  budgets  reached  the 
sum  of  three  thousand  one  hundred  and  forty  millions  of 
marks  in  1896,  has,  as  already  pointed  out,  no  head  for 
figures. 

“His  father,  the  lamented  Frederick  III,  showed  a 
woful  lack  of  business  capacity  when  he  loaned  the  Prince 
of  Wales  those  ten  million  marks  ^ to  be  repaid  when  he 
should  become  King  of  Great  Britain,’  ” I heard  Prince 
Stolberg,  who  was  imperial  grand-master  at  the  time  (the 
transaction  took  place  May,  1888),  say  more  than  once, 
“but,”  added  the  distinguished  feudal  lord,  “His  late 
Majesty’s  subsequent  financiering  shows  that  his  was  an 
act  of  weakness,  rather  than  of  misconception  of  the  risk 
involved.  With  the  present  Kaiser  it  is  different.  Whether 
you  put  the  naught  before  or  after  the  figure,  it’s  all  ‘ cham- 
pagne and  oysters  ’ to  him.  He  would  be  as  generous  as 
his  father  was,  if  he  were  capable  of  friendship.” 

It  is  clearly  a deficiency  in  William’s  mental  make-up : 
as  some  people  lack  the  sense  of  locality,  so  the  Em- 
peror happens  to  be  destitute  of  a proper  comprehension 
of  values.  Units  or  tens,  three,  seven,  or  eight  naughts, — 
His  Majesty  recognizes  a distinction  between  these  factors 
in  one  respect  only.  To  quote  once  more  Prince  Stolberg, 
who,  as  is  well  known,  soon  tired  of  the  job  of  “standing 
off  Peter  and  owing  Paul : ” “I  think  I have  done  as  well 
as  anybody  can  with  such  a pupil  of  economics.  I made 
him  understand  that  the  Reichstag  people  deal  with  mil- 
lions, while  we  at  Court  must  be  content  with  using  tens 
and  hundreds  and  thousands,  if  it  comes  high.” 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


167 


This  seems  to  be  the  only  mathematical  rule  that  has 
taken  root  in  William’s  brain,  and,  agreeable  to  Stolberg’s 
admonitions,  he  appears  to  have  set  himself  a limit  of  three 
to  ten  marks  for  every-day  use,  and  of  fifty  or  one  hundred 
marks  for  high  days  and  holidays,  so  to  speak.  This  ap- 
plies, of  course,  to  personal  disbursements  only,  the  require- 
ments of  the  household,  the  travelling,  representation,  and 
amusement  budgets  being  regulated  by  his  grand  officers 
and  according  to  certain  rules. 

How  well  I remember  the  flutter  and  pleasant  anticipa- 
tions I experienced  during  my  first  Christmas  season  at  the 
Prussian  Court.  Not  that  I nursed  great  expectations  on 
my  own  behalf  (I  have  been  royalty’s  favorite  all  my  life, 
and  received  many  precious  gifts  from  the  old  Emperor 
and  Empress,  as  well  as  from  my  present  master  and  mis- 
tress, in  the  days  of  my  prosperity);  but  I felt  for  our 
faithful  servants,  whose  lives,  though  spent  in  a palace,  are 
harder  in  many  respects  than  those  of  the  general  run  of 
employees,  or  even  of  comparatively  poor  people.  In 
their  gorgeous  liveries  and  tidy  house-dresses  they  look 
suave  and  contented  enough  to  the  occasional  beholder,  but 
their  lot  is  scarcely  as  happy  as  their  serene  faces  indicate; 
neither  do  their  wages  correspond  with  their  silver-edged 
clothes  of  fine  material.  Off  and  on  I have  heard  of  cases 
of  poverty,  even  of  destitution,  in  their  families,  for  which 
they  dared  not  ask  relief  in  the  most  likely  place,  of  their 
master  or  mistress,  who  caused  it  to  be  known  once  and 
for  all  that  they  must  not  be  annoyed  by  their  servants’ 
personal  concerns. 

It  is  a hard  rule,  I argued,  but  may  be  imperative  with 
so  large  a staff  of  people.  In  this  bountiful  Christmas 
season,  surely,  their  Majesties  will  make  up  for  it.  Picture, 
then,  my  amazement  when  I heard  the  Emperor  say  to 
Her  Majesty,  at  the  beginning  of  Holy  Week:  “I  have 


i68 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


cautioned  Miessner  (a  privy  councillor,  who  administers  the 
royal  purse)  to  pay  the  customary  ten  marks  only  to  those 
servants — lackeys  and  maids — who  wait  upon  me  person- 
ally. It  will  be  well  for  you  to  instruct  Baron  von  Mirbach 
similarly,  or  you  will  run  the  risk  of  feeing  a whole  tribe  of 
men  and  girls  who  are  merely  second  or  third  assistants  to 
your  own  people.” 

William’s  valets,  I heard  later  on,  received  fifty  marks 
from  their  imperial  master  as  Christmas  gratuity;  all  his 
other  attendants,  men  and  women,  had  to  be  content  with 
the  customary  ten  marks  ‘^for  gingerbread,”  as  the  pour- 
boire  is  styled  at  Court. 

‘‘And  that  is  the  only  Trinkgeld  the  Kaiser  dispenses  all 
the  year  round,  ’ ’ complained  the  wife  of  one  of  the  wardrobe- 
men,  who  does  my  plain  sewing;  “outside  of  Christmas, 
His  Majesty  never  seems  to  have  a pfennig  for  his  body- 
servants.  Although  himself  continuously  in  want  of  stim- 
ulants (he  often  drinks  four  or  five  egg  cognacs  in  the 
course  of  the  day),  it  never  strikes  him  that  his  overworked 
attendants  might  feel  like  stepping  across  the  way  to  the 
canteen  and  ‘crook  an  arm,’  with  Your  Ladyship’s  per- 
mission.” 

Occasional  beggars  that  accost  him  on  his  rides  through 
Potsdam  or  Berlin  receive  three  marks  from  the  Emperor, 
and  a like  sum  is  appropriated  every  Sunday  for  the  benefit 
of  the  contribution-plate ; his  adjutant  hands  him  the  coin 
before  he  steps  into  his  carriage  going  to  church ; beggars 
must  report  at  the  royal  stables  for  their  mite. 

Whether  this  tardy  generosity  is  an  evidence  of  hard- 
heartedness, as  people  in  the  royal  service  claim,  or  whether 
the  Kaiser’s  unlimited  egotism  is  to  blame,  I would  not 
like  to  decide ; perhaps  both  work  together,  perhaps  Count 
Stolberg’s  advice  has  something  to  do  with  it,  while  the 
Kaiser’s  inability  properly  to  judge  monetary  values  remains 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  1 69 

the  prime  factor.  To  emphasize  this  latter  point  let  me 
give  one  more  anecdote. 

William,  who  is  nothing  if  not  a slave  to  tradition,  has 
revived  a habit  of  several  of  his  ancestors,  namely,  to 
stroll  out  of  his  palace  gate  as  an  ordinary  mortal  once  a 
year,  on  Heiliger  Abend  (Holy  Evening,  the  night  before 
Christmas),  when  he  dons  the  most  subdued  civilian  dress 
his  wardrobe  affords,  and  when  no  adjutant,  or  any  one 
of  the  body  service,  is  allowed  to  follow  him, — a general 
order  that,  however,  does  not  apply  to  the  secret  police, 
which  is  made  acquainted  with  the  Kaiser’s  every  out- 
door move  beforehand,  and  has  its  guardian  angels  about 
wherever  and  whenever  he  is  in  the  open. 

‘‘The  war-lord,  masquerading  as  a sub-officer  on  leave,” 
as  his  brother-in-law  of  Meiningen  once  described  him  on 
a similar  occasion,  walks  through  the  park  behind  the  Neues 
Palais  toward  Sans  Souci  and  often  rambles  beyond  the 
gates  of  the  ancient  chateau,  wishing  a “Merry  Christ- 
mas ’ ’ to  and  distributing  small  gold  pieces  among  needy 
persons  he  encounters. 

It  was  originally  a novel  amusement  for  the  Kaiser  and  a 
profitable  one  for  the  poor  men  and  women  who  happened 
to  attract  his  attention  when  his  pockets  were  still  lined ; 
that  is,  while  his  charity  fund  of  two  hundred  marks, 
divided  up  into  fourteen  gold  crowns  and  three  double 
crowns,  lasted;  and  courtiers  and  others  near  William, 
having  the  higher  interests  of  the  monarchy  at  heart,  used 
to  rejoice  in  this  solitary  manifestation  of  royal  good-will, 
that  helped  to  re-cement  the  bonds  between  king  and 
people,  those  bonds  growing  further  and  further  apart  in 
our  democratic  times  when  the  most  conspicuous  repre- 
sentative of  kingship  has  seemingly  forgotten  that  there 
is  anything  in  common  between  him  and  the  rest  of  man- 
kind. 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


170 

“ Will  it  please  Your  Majesty  to  go  on  your  usual  Santa- 
Claus  expedition  this  evening  before  the  trees  are  lit?” 
asked  Court-marshal  Count  Eulenburg  at  second  breakfast 
on  the  day  preceding  Christmas  of  1894. 

“Most  certainly,”  replied  the  Kaiser,  “and,  by  the 
way,  direct  Miessner  to  furnish  me  with  silver  coins,  in- 
stead of  gold,  this  time, — fourteen  Thalers  and  three  or 
four  five-mark  pieces.  You  see,”  he  added,  addressing 
himself  to  the  Empress,  “ I have  been  thinking  about  this 
giving  away  of  crowns  and  double  crowns;  some  poor 
devil,  whom  I try  to  benefit,  might  arouse  suspicion  when 
he  offers  my  Christmas  present  in  payment.  That  element 
of  distrust  and  danger  I will  circumvent  by  spending  only 
Thalers  among  my  needy  friends  hereafter.” 

“How  thoughtful  of  you,”  lisped  the  Empress,  devour- 
ing her  husband  with  admiring  glances. 

“Your  Majesty  thinks  of  everything,”  said  the  Count- 
esses von  Brockdorff  and  von  Bassewitz  unisono.  And  “Of 
everything,  particularly  his  pocket,”  whispered  my  neigh- 
bor, Count  M , mockingly.  For  my  own  part,  I was 

in  hopes  that  the  Kaiser  might  reconsider  the  matter  and 
arm  himself  with  the  full  quota  of  two  hundred  marks  in 
silver  before  he  started  out ; but  when  he  came  to  take 
leave  of  Her  Majesty,  he  drew  from  his  overcoat  pocket  the 
shabby  little  amount  he  had  decided  to  spend,  fifty-seven 
marks  in  all,  brand  new  silver  pieces  each  one  of  them. 

“The  poor  are  in  luck  to-night,”  he  said.  “Miessner 
selected  the  brightest  Thalers  in  his  treasury,  they  are 
really  very  pretty,”  and  the  Kaiser  laughed  as  the  hapless 
Princess  Lamballe  may  have  laughed  as  she  exclaimed : 
“If  the  poor  have  no  bread,  let  them  eat  pastry.” 

As  little  as  I would  be  inclined  to  charge  the  young 
beauty  who  gave  her  head  for  Marie  Antoinette’s  friend- 
ship, with  heartlessness,  as  little  do  I agree  with  Count 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  171 

M ’s  uncharitable  surmisal,  that  the  Kaiser  resolved 

upon  the  change  from  crowns  to  marks  for  reasons  of 
economy.  On  the  contrary,  the  probabilities  are  that  he 
did  not  consider  the  losses  his  poor  would  suffer  or  the 
saving  on  his  own  part,  for  one  single  moment,  his  ina- 
bility to  judge  values  rightly  precluding  such  a course. 

This  strange  state  of  mind  is  not  without  pathological 
interest,  of  which  more  anon ; but  as  a secondary  cause  the 
practice  of  bringing  up  young  princes  in  complete  ignor- 
ance of  money-matters  must  be  held  responsible. 

Royal  parents  seem  to  think  that  to  deprive  their  sons  up 
to  the  day  of  their  majority  of  a decent  amount  of  pocket- 
money  is  the  surest,  nay,  the  only  way  to  keep  their  boys 
from  becoming  spendthrifts. 

In  Prussia,  the  princely  youth  is  allowed  a few  Thalers 
per  week,  of  which  the  minutest  accounting  is  demanded, 
and  which — and  that  is  the  worst  feature — he  may  not 
even  manage  in  person,  that  privilege  being  reserved  for 
his  governor  or  Court-marshal.  The  practice  has  worked 
havoc  immeasurable  with  us,  as  well  as  with  others;  but 
there  seems  to  be  little  hope  that  this  doltish  idea,  worthy 
of  its  avaricious  progenitor,  Frederick  William  I of  Prussia, 
will  be  abandoned  in  a hurry. 

True,  young  Hohenzollerns  are  not  liable  to  be  flogged 
nowadays  for  spending  a few  pfennigs  unnecessarily,  as 
Crown  Prince  Frederick  was  when  he  gave  a royal  servant 
eight  Groschens  for  bringing  his  dog  from  Potsdam  to 
Wusterhausem,  a distance  of  twenty  miles  (his  father  beat 
him  for  having  no  more  sense  than  to  pay  a man  who 
merely  performed  his  damned  duty  ” ) ; but  even  so  wide- 
awake a woman  as  the  Empress  Frederick  insisted  upon 
bringing  up  the  heir  to  the  throne  without  giving  him  a 
chance  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  power,  the  temptation, 
the  misery,  and  the  joy  that  the  possession  of  ready  money 


172 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


carries  with  it.  As  the  holes  in  the  Greek  philosopher’s  toga 
denoted  vanity  rather  than  contempt  of  worldly  opinion,  so 
the  patches  on  a youthful  Hohenzollern’s  trousers  indicate 
not  Spartan  frugality,  but  a false  notion  of  the  principles  of 
economics.  Our  Princes  are  not  taught  that  it  is  necessary 
to  economize  in  order  to  be  liberal ; they  are  merely  deprived 
of  things  they  like, — good  clothes  and  cash, — in  obedience 
to  a hoary  delusion  that  has  peopled  the  thrones  of  Europe 
with  spendthrifts  or  niggards  for  the  past  century. 

I have  heard  the  former  Court-marshal  von  Liebenau  say 
that  William,  when  at  college,  never  had  a copper  over 
and  above  his  expenses,  all  of  which  were  disbursed  by  him, 
Liebenau. 

“When  he  entered  active  service,  that  old  bane — pen- 
ury— hovered  over  the  lieutenant,  captain,  and  colonel; 
his  entire  income  was  made  over  to  me  every  month  or 
quarter,  and  as  it  was  always  spoken  for  in  advance,  my 
young  master  even  aspired  in  vain  for  a pocket-piece,  a 
double  gold  crown.” 

Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  victim  of  these  educa- 
tional methods,  having  been  unable  to  acquire  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  nervus  reru7n,  persists  to  this  day  in 
a childish  attitude  toward  financial  questions,  and,  having 
all  his  own  wants  attended  to  as  a matter  of  course,  fails 
to  understand  or  appreciate  what  is  due  to  others  ? 

Personal  friends  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress  Frederick 
have  defended  their  Majesties’  short-sighted  course  on  the 
plea  of  tradition  and  conservatism ; but  that  apology  is 
hardly  pertinent  in  view  of  the  fact  that  William’s  parents 
had  before  them  two  awful  examples  depicting  the  sorry 
consequences  of  such  bringing-up  as  they  were  meting  out 
to  their  son. 

All  through  the  childhood  and  youth  of  the  Prince  Royal 
the  Prussian  Court  was  occupied  with  the  contemplation 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


173 


of  the  vagaries  of  Louis  II  of  Bavaria,  a Prince  whose 
wild  extravagances  and  contempt  for  the  science  of  addi- 
tion and  subtraction  were  directly  traceable  to  his  sordid 
and  excessively  severe  training.  I myself  have  heard  the 
Crown  Princess  tell,  with  many  expressions  of  condemna- 
tion and  regret,  of  the  austere  regimen  that  prevailed  in 
the  Munich  Hofburg  under  Maximilian  Joseph  II  and  his 
consort,  Marie,  daughter  of  Prince  William  of  Prussia. 
Once,  in  the  early  sixties,  when  the  Court  was  summering 
at  Babelsberg,  Her  Royal  Highness  read  us  a letter  from  the 
Queen  of  Bavaria  to  Queen  Augusta.  am  in  despair,” 
wrote  Her  Majesty,  “and  hardly  know  where  to  turn. 
I cannot  conscientiously  oppose  the  King’s  educational 
methods,  still  it  is  hard  to  see  my  children  suffer  under  a 
system  that  robs  them  of  all  the  little  joys  of  life.  The 
King  will  not  allow  our  boys  to  have  more  than  eight 
Groschens”  (twenty  cents)  “pocket-money  per  week, — a 
ridiculous  amount,  do  you  not  think  so?  Yesterday  I 
learned  that  Ludwig  ’ ’ (who  became  King  two  or  three 
years  afterward,  in  March,  1864)  “had  contracted  with 
a dentist  to  have  two  of  his  sound  molar  teeth  pulled, 
for  which  the  boy  was  to  get  twenty  florins.  The  Prince 
had  given  a fictitious  name,  and  the  dentist  heard  only 
by  the  merest  accident,  and  at  the  last  moment,  whom  he 
had  before  him.  Of  course  he  quailed  on  learning  the 
truth,  and  very  properly  informed  our  Court-marshal,  who 
in  turn  acquainted  me  with  the  facts.  I forbade  him  to 
mention  the  matter  to  His  Majesty,”  the  Queen  went  on 
to  say,  “but  I am  afraid  it  will  penetrate  to  the  all-highest 
ears  by  and  by,  and  then  the  Prince’s  allowance  may  be 
cut  off  altogether.” 

In  later  years  similar  accounts  were  received  from  Cam- 
den House,  Chislehurst,  the  residence  of  the  widowed 
Empress  of  the  French  and  the  Prince  Imperial.  The 


174 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


former  Countess  of  Teba  had  adopted  the  system  of  her 
more  ^ legitimate”  royal  brothers  and  sisters,  and  made 
her  only  son’s  life  a hell  by  withholding  from  him  a suit- 
able appanage.  This  bright  young  Prince  had  to  maintain 
a position  among  the  gilded  youth  of  London  on  an  allow- 
ance that  barely  covered  the  cost  of  his  cab-fares  and 
theatre-tickets,  and  in  consequence  the  former  pleasant  re- 
lations between  mother  and  son  were  grievously  disturbed. 

‘‘  The  old  mercenary  spirit  seems  to  have  come  over  the 
Montijo  woman  once  more,”  said  the  Empress  Augusta, 
who,  through  her  reader,  a talented  French  poet,  was 
always  particularly  well  informed  with  reference  to  affairs 
in  Chislehurst;  ‘^she  treats  her  son  as  if  he  were  a clerk 
of  her  grandfather,  Mr.  Kirkpatrick,  sometime  consul  in 
Malaga.  And  she  expects  to  reinstate  this  young  man, 
who  is  never  allowed  to  handle  enough  money  to  buy  him- 
self a pony,  on  the  throne  of  France  ! ” 

And  in  the  summer  of  1879,  after  poor  Lulu  had  breathed 
his  last  under  a cloud  of  poisoned  arrows.  Her  Majesty 
asserted,  on  the  authority  of  Comte  d’Herrison,  who  had 
been  on  very  intimate  terms  with  Napoleon  III,  that 
Eugenie  had  driven  her  son  into  this  senseless  war  and 
to  death,  by  her  avarice. 

If  we  could  only  see  ourselves  as  we  see  others ! 

Here  we  have  two  of  the  wisest  royal  heads  of  the  cen- 
tury, the  Empresses  Augusta  and  Frederick,  criticising  their 
friends  on  account  of  a detestable  and  dangerous  method 
that  flourished  at  their  own  firesides  scarcely  less  con- 
spicuously than  at  Munich  and  Camden  House,  and  must 
have  come  under  their  notice  almost  daily  for  tens  of  years 
in  succession  ! 

Verily,  the  Bourbons  are  not  the  only  ones  who  never 
learn  anything  and  never  forget  anything;  and  Alexander 
the  First’s  criticism  on  the  discrowned;  “they  are  incorriges 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


175 


and  incorrigibleSj"  which  the  Kaiser  is  so  fond  of  applying 
to  some  of  his  dear  relatives,  notably  Duke  Gunther  of 
Schleswig  and  the  Crown  Prince  of  Roumania,  might  be 
laid  at  the  door  of  every  man  and  woman  born  in  the 
purple,  so  far  as  my  experience  at  the  various  courts  goes. 

We  now  return  to  that  twenty-million  project  launched 
with  so  much  self-satisfied  complacency  “ between  soup  and 
fish.”  On  the  eve  of  its  birthday — for  we  learned  by  and 
by  that  the  Kaiser,  who  picked  up  the  idea  in  a rambling 
memorial  of  his  granduncle,  the  mad  Frederick  William 
IV,  and,  after  adopting  and  fathering  the  plans,  made 
haste  to  parade  them  before  the  visiting  Prince  and  the 
Court  as  his  own  and  as  something  brand  new — at  supper, 
the  same  day,  William  brought  forward  many  fresh  argu- 
ments in  favor  of  his  grand  schemes. 

The  municipal  council,  he  explained,  if  it  were  not  en- 
tirely composed  of  Socialists,  could  not  offer  any  objection 
to  his  plans,  “no  matter  what  the  cost,”  for  he  meant  to 
give  the  terraces  over  to  his  sons  as  a play-ground.  Wedell 
must  argue  that  the  terraces  would  offer  a formidable  bul- 
wark against  the  plans  of  anarchists.  And  as  a final  trump : 
“We  will  promise  to  prolong  the  annual  stay  of  the  Court 
at  Berlin  at  least  one  month  or  six  weeks.” 

“Point  No.  2,”  said  Minister  von  Boetticher  to  his  wife, 
who  was  my  neighbor  in  the  petit  ce7'cle  in  the  Concert 
Room,  “will  force  Caprivi  to  shut  up  shop.  He  cannot 
afford  to  drop  Bismarck’s  Socialist  laws  and  on  top  of  it 
shout  about  anarchistic  danger.  ’ ’ And,  turning  to  me.  His 
Excellency  asked:  “Are  the  children  ever  permitted  to 
play  on  the  terraces  on  the  Lustgarten  side  ? ’ ’ 

“The  poor  boys  never  go  outside  the  castle  gate,  except 
in  their  old  blue  landau,”  I answered. 

“ I thought  so,”  smiled  Boetticher,  with  a side  glance  at 
Herr  von  Wedell,  who  was  standing  with  His  Majesty  in 


176 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


one  of  the  windows,  seemingly  listening  to  most  important 
disclosures,  “and  it  will  make  the  House  Ministry’s  posi- 
tion the  more  difficult.  If  the  existing  terraces  are  never 
utilized  for  the  purposes  claimed  as  the  raison  d' Hr e for 
new  grants,  the  argument  stands  on  very  rickety  ground. 
Your  Ladyship  might  hint  so  much  to  Her  Majesty.” 

“No,  thank  you,”  I declared,  ^Hhis  Ladyship  knows 
better  than  to  doubt  the  Emperor’s  omniscience  in  his 
wife’s  presence.”  I had  spoken  with  unusual  emphasis, 
and  Herr  and  Madame  von  Boetticher  laughed  so  heartily 
as  to  attract  attention  all  around. 

“I  wonder  if  His  Majesty  will  catch  many  zucours^  as 
they  say  in  your  country,  with  his  promise  to  reside  longer 
than  usual  in  the  capital?”  said,  in  another  part  of  the 
hall,  the  Hereditary  Princess  of  Hohenzollern,  nH  Princess 
de  Bourbon,  to  “little  Mrs.  Aribert  ” of  Anhalt. 

“I  don’t  know  if  I quite  understood  you,  cousin,”  re- 
plied Princess  Louise,  haughtily;  “but,  at  any  rate,  be 
informed  that  the  word  you  intended  using  is  an  Ameri- 
canism, not  an  English  term,  and  very  inelegant  besides. 
As  for  the  rest,  I think  the  Berliners  have  every  reason  to 
place  implicit  confidence  in  His  Majesty’s  word.” 

During  the  next  week  or  so,  at  luncheon,  dinner,  and 
supper,  at  receptions,  concerts,  and  balls,  the  Court  talked 
of  nothing  but  the  projected  castle  improvements,  and  the 
Kaiser  never  wearied  of  explaining  his  plans  to  visitors  pri- 
vately, and  to  a roomful  of  guests  and  attendants  collect- 
ively. Then,  suddenly,  a change  of  base  was  decreed.  The 
terraces  were  hurled  from  their  imaginary  pedestals,  and  in 
their  stead  the  ever  ready  imperial  pencil  pictured  to  us  the 
Schloss  situated  on  a green  peninsula,  and  surrounded  by 
majestic  waters  on  three  sides.  According  to  this  latest 
plan,  Schinkel’s  classic  Academy  of  Architecture  was  to  be 
levelled,  and  Schinkel  Square  dropped  fifty  feet,  to  make 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


177 


room  for  a splendid  lake  five  acres  in  circumference,  the 
waters  of  which  were  to  wash  the  feet  of  William  the 
First’s  gigantic  monument. 

The  scheme  looked  uncommonly  well  on  paper,  and  His 
Majesty  experienced  small  difficulty  in  finding  theoretical 
supporters  for  his  sublime  projects ; but,  unfortunately,  the 
matter  got  into  the  newspapers  even  before  preliminary 
negotiations  with  the  city  authorities  had  been  opened,  and 
a storm  of  indignation,  ridicule,  and  defiance  broke  loose. 

^‘Not  a pfennig  for  these  baunaerrische'^  (construction- 
mad)  ‘^schemes,  not  an  inch  of  city  property,”  began  a 
press  article,  which  I was  obliged  to  read  to  Her  Majesty  a 
few  mornings  later;  and  ‘^the  times  are  past  when  nations 
build  palaces  for  spendthrift  sovereigns,  ’ ’ wrote  somebody, 
who  desired  to  remain  nameless,  to  William  in  a letter 
postmarked  Berlin  W.,  the  fashionable  quarter;  we  pay 
the  King  of  Prussia  a salary  nowadays,  and  he  has  to  get 
along  on  it  as  well  as  any  other  official,  unless,  like  an 
army  officer,  he  married  a woman  with  money.” 

The  protests  from  the  provinces  were  not  less  vigorous. 
It  appears  that  the  minister  of  the  royal  house,  for  some 
time  past,  had  endeavored  to  persuade  the  authorities  of 
Hannover,  Cassel,  and  Wiesbaden,  where  royal  theatres  are 
established,  to  release  the  exchequer  from  its  obligation  to 
furnish  a subsidy  for  the  maintenance  of  these  institutions. 
“The  royal  Princes,”  wrote  the  eloquent  Herr  von  WedelL, 
“are  growing  up,  and  funds  for  their  education,  their 
proper  maintenance,  clothes,  and  so  forth,  must  be  set 
aside.  In  view  of  this  increase  of  his  obligatory  ex- 
penses, His  Majesty  has  reluctantly  consented  to  a curtail- 
ment of  such  outlays  as  come  under  the  head  of  contingent 
charges,”  etc. 

Well  worded,  was  it  not?  this  appeal  on  behalf  of  one’s 
six  boys;  but  the  Hannoverians,  Casselers,  and  Wiesbadeners 


178 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


refused  to  be  bamboozled.  They  stood  upon  their  rights, 
and  when,  in  the  course  of  events,  the  Kaiser’s  great  build- 
ing plans  were  divulged,  they  congratulated  themselves 
upon  their  firmness,  with  many  disrespectful  allusions  to 
the  baby  act  that  had  failed. 

And  the  end  of  it  all?  The  scandal  assumed  such 
proportions  that  there  was  nothing  left  but  a complete 
backdown. 

On  the  9th  of  March  it  was  announced  at  luncheon  that 
His  Majesty  had  gone  to  Hubertusstock,  where  he  does 
most  of  his  sulking,  and  in  the  afternoon  Minister  von 
Boetticher  got  up  in  the  Diet  and  quieted  public  opinion 
by  a few  well-set  lies. 

‘‘Those  grand  building  projects,”  he  said,  “have  never 
had  any  existence  except  in  the  brains  of  hungry  penny-a- 
liners  and  ambitious  architects.  Nobody  at  Court  has  ever 
dreamed  of  their  realization.  In  fact,  they  have  never  been 
discussed  in  the  all-highest  presence.” 

“ The  greatest  fools  are  always  the  greatest  liars,”  Prince 
Bismarck  laughingly  remarked  to  Duke  Johann  Albrecht  of 
Mecklenburg,  when  His  Highness  related  the  facts  to  him. 

“ Do  you  refer  to  Boetticher  or ? ” 

“To  Boetticher,  of  course;  am  I not  his  sworn  enemy, 
according  to  the  newspapers?”  replied  the  old  Prince; 
“to  Boetticher,”  he  repeated,  “who  prophesied  Caprivi’s 
fall,  and,  to  save  his  own  neck,  had  to  lie  publicly  and 
shamelessly, — a thing  I have  never  done  during  my  long 
official  life.” 

Another  deadly  parallel  of  the  extreme  in  the  Kaiser’s 
character,  similar  to  that  exemplified  by  the  Meiningen  and 
the  building-project  matters,  might  be  drawn  by  placing  the 
reported  reduction  of  His  Majesty’s  Christmas  charity  in 
juxtaposition  to  his  contemplated  appropriation  of  certain 
public  moneys  intrusted  to  his  keeping. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


179 


I refer  to  the  so-called  “Imperial  Disposition  Fund,” 
intended  to  afford  relief  to  Prussian  and  German  veterans 
of  the  wars  and  in  case  of  great  national  disasters.  As  its 
name  implies,  the  right  of  bestowing  grants  out  of  the  three 
million  marks,  annually  set  aside  for  the  purposes  specified, 
is  vested  in  the  sovereign, — reason  enough  for  William,  who 
recognizes  no  obligation  that  conflicts  with  his  “all-high- 
est” pleasure,  to  regard  the  money  as  a sort  of  augmenta- 
tion of  the  civil  list,  in  the  same  way  as  he  takes  the  naval 
phrases,  “ His  Majesty’s  cruiser,”  “ His  Majesty’s  torpedo,” 
etc.,  literally. 

To  convey  a thorough  understanding  of  this  matter, 
we  shall  have  to  go  back  to  the  events  of  March,  1892. 
It  was  my  imperial  mistress  who,  after  the  withdrawal 
of  Count  Zedlitz’s  common-school  law,  persuaded  von 
Caprivi  to  remain  in  office. 

^^Votre  petite  guerre  est  fini,''  said  the  Emperor  to  Her 
Majesty  at  supper  on  March  28,  “and  you  have  not  been 
luckier  than  Madame  Eugenie.  Rest  assured,  though,  that 
I will  not  be  in  the  market  again  for  any  of  Uncle  Chris- 
tian’s ultra-Christian  plans.  No,  we  will  not  go  to  Cum- 
berland Lodge  a second  time.” 

Her  Majesty  grew  pale  and  blushed  violently  in  rapid 
succession.  Her  bosom  heaved,  and  some  of  the  wine  in 
the  glass  she  was  raising  to  her  lips  spilled  over  her  superb 
gown. 

“ I do  not  quite  understand,  Willie,”  she  said  at  last,  lisp- 
ing painfully  in  her  agitation. 

“ Beg  Your  Majesty’s  pardon,”  was  the  Kaiser’s  sarcastic 
reply ; “I  thought  everybody  knew  by  this  time  that  I had 
to  withdraw  the  Volksschulgesetz  and  turn  Zedlitz  adrift. 
My  government  was  fast  becoming  the  laughing-stock  of 
Europe  with  this  Augustenburg  sort  of  legislation,  as  Bis- 
marck styles  it.” 


8o 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


The  old  enemy  of  our  house ” whimpered  Auguste 

Victoria. 

“You  are  mistaken  in  your  surmisal : I am  not  quoting 
from  the  Hamburger  Nachrichten.  The  Prince  expressed 
himself  thus  toward  your  uncle  Waldersee,  pointing  out  at 
the  same  time  the  risks  I was  running  in  advocating  a law 
liable  to  be  associated  in  public  opinion  with  petticoat  and 
family  influences.” 

I did  not  hear  the  whole  of  the  above  conversation,  and 
lost  the  rest  of  it  altogether,  as,  by  the  Empress’s  request, 
William  lowered  his  voice  after  this  last  sally;  but  Her 
Majesty  repeated  it  word  for  word  when  we  ladies  attended 
her  in  her  dressing-room  later  on.  “The  Kaiser  chooses 
to  put  all  the  blame  for  this  failure  upon  myself  and  my 
family,”  she  said,  amid  a flood  of  tears;  “but,  by  all  that 
is  holy  to  me,  I swear,  neither  my  uncle,  nor  I person- 
ally, had  anything  to  do  with  the  launching  of  the  Volks- 
schulgesetz.  Prince  Christian,  it  is  true,  has  endeavored  to 
impress  His  Majesty  with  the  importance  of  his  religious 
duties  as  su7nmus  episcopus^  and  the  two  gentlemen  have 
had  conferences  about  the  best  ways  and  means  to  combat 
disbelief  and  atheism  in  Germany,  but  I am  convinced  that 
my  uncle  never  ventured  advice  on  matters  of  legislation. 
He  merely  tried  to  rouse  my  husband’s  interest  in  divine 
matters,  as  any  ardent  follower  of  the  Lord  should  do.  The 
Volksschulgesetz  as  such  was  the  Kaiser’s  own  creation, 
though  some  of  the  ideas  incorporated  in  it  might  have 
come  from  across  the  channel.” 

“Your  Majesty  should  not  have  minded  the  Kaiser’s  ill- 
humor,”  I ventured  to  say;  “the  attitude  of  Parliament 
and  the  press  naturally  angered  him  and ” 

“I  know,  I know,”  interrupted  Auguste  Victoria;  “I 
can  forget  everything  but  the  words:  ‘We  will  not  go  to 
Cumberland  Lodge  a second  time.’  It  was  there,  at  my 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  l8l 

uncle’s  seat,  that  William  and  I fell  in  love  with  each 
other.” 

The  Kaiser  slept,  on  the  night  that  followed  Count  Zed- 
litz’s  enforced  resignation,  in  his  little  private  bedroom,  and 
next  morning  departed  for  Hubertusstock  before  Her  Maj- 
esty had  arisen.  That  was  enough  to  paint  our  gilded  salofts 
an  ashen  gray,  in  which  the  children.  Her  Majesty’s  ladies, 
friends,  and  attendants,  vanished  as  if  behind  a cloud. 
Auguste  Victoria  refused  to  be  comforted:  her  husband 
had  left ‘her  in  a fit  of  irritation;  the  sovereign  lady  was 
seemingly  incapable  of  turning  her  thoughts  from  the  dis- 
quieting subject.  In  the  midst  of  her  lamentations,  a de- 
spatch arrived  from  Queen  Victoria,  which  I was  ordered 
to  decipher.  “It  is  reported  here  that  Caprivi  will  resign. 
Let  it  be  averted  at  all  hazards.  It  would  be  nothing  short 
of  a calamity  just  now,”  telegraphed  the  Kaiser’s  grand- 
mother. 

“I  will  drive  to  the  Chancellor  at  once,”  cried  the 
Kaiserin,  so  great  is  her  respect  for  Queen  Victoria’s 
political  wisdom ; but  the  Grand-mistress,  Countess  Brock- 
dorff,  succeeded  in  dissuading  her  from  so  extraordinary 
a step  by  referring  to  the  lack  of  precedents  and  sundry 
scruples  of  etiquette.  Finally,  it  was  agreed  that  Her 
Majesty  should  write  to  Caprivi ; and  all  of  us — the  Kai- 
serin, Countess  Brockdorff,  Fraulein  von  Gersdorff,  and 
myself — worked  out  draughts  for  the  important  epistle, 
with  the  understanding  that  the  best  of  the  four,  contain- 
ing certain  points  upon  which  we  had  settled,  should  be 
adopted  and  sent  off  after  Her  Majesty  had  copied  it.  Of 
course,  a lot  of  ink  was  spilled  uselessly,  and  a still  greater 
amount  of  time  wasted,  in  discussing  the  merits  of  our 
various  attempts ; but  in  the  end  a reasonably  appropriate 
paper  was  pieced  together,  whose  leading  passages  read  as 
follows : 


i82 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


**Pray  do  not  leave  the  Kaiser  in  the  lurch,  and  thus 
commit  the  country  to  an  uncertain  future  now  that  the 
relations  between  the  Crown  and  its  first  officer  have  once 
more  strengthened,  and  most  things  that  fell  into  a chaotic 
condition  after  Bismarck’s  retirement  are  being  straightened 
out.” 

Herr  von  der  Knesebeck  carried  the  letter  to  Wilhelms 
Strasse,  and  brought  back  the  reassuring  message  that  His 
Excellency  considered  it  a great  honor  to  obey  Her  Maj- 
esty’s command,  and  that  he  would  wait  upon  the  Kaiser 
in  Hubertusstock  the  same  evening. 

The  rest  is  history ; Caprivi  consented  to  remain  in 
office,  and  the  Zedlitz  incident  was  no  longer  mentioned 
at  Court. 

All  this,  it  will  be  remembered,  happened  in  March, 
1892.  Two  years  later,  the  Empress  thought  quite  differ- 
ently about  a change  in  the  Chancellorship.  By  that  time 
she  had  grown  more  and  more  isolated  on  the  throne,  with 
a husband  always  absent,  if  not  physically,  mentally,  and 
the  members  of  the  royal  family  becoming  estranged  from 
her  Court  one  after  another.  The  necessity  of  having  a 
relative  in  a commanding  position  near  her,  a man  of  her 
own  caste,  who  understood  her,  an  equal  upon  whom  she 
could  lean,  became  more  imperative  every  day. 

Waldersee  it  could  not  be.  “Ah  ! if  we  had  only  Uncle 
Chlodwig  with  us.”  How  often  was  this  pious  wish  on  my 
mistress’s  lips  during  the  first  half  of  the  year  1894  ! “ He 

is  such  a grand  seigneur,”  she  used  to  say,  “and  as  mild 
and  temperate  as  a good  priest ! What  an  example  he 
would  be  for  my  children  ! ” 

“ He  is  also  credited  with  an  unusual  amount  of 
tenacity,”  I remarked  on  one  of  these  occasions. 

“You  do  not  consider  that  a fault.  Countess?”  Her 
Majesty  had  assumed  a supercilious  tone,  but  quickly  added. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


183 


in  an  anxious  voice : ‘‘It  is,  of  course,  out  of  the  question 
that  he  should  offer  opposition  to  His  Majesty  as  Bismarck 
did  and  as  this  Caprivi  is  doing.” 

“I  don’t  know  about  that.  He  told  his  former  sover- 
eign, King  Louis  of  Bavaria : ‘ I possess  all  the  attributes 
of  birth  and  rank  that  any  king  in  Christendom  may  lay 
claim  to.’  ” 

This  intelligence  did  not  please  the  Kaiserin,  though  her 
own  mother  is  a Hohenlohe ; but  her  scruples  on  that  score 
had  evidently  worn  off,  or  she  had  forgotten  all  about  the 
incident,  when  the  Kaiser,  on  October  25,  upon  his  return 
from  the  memorable  visit  to  Liebenberg,  Count  Philip 
Eulenburg’s  country-seat,  asked  her  to  write  to  Strassburg 
and  “ probe  her  uncle  as  to  his  willingness  to  accept  the 
Chancellorship.”  As  the  German  says,  she  was  immedi- 
ately “fire  and  flame  for  the  project,”  and,  after  finishing 
her  letter  to  the  Emperor’s  lieutenant  in  the  Reichslande, 
she  sat  up  half  the  night  scribbling  to  her  mother,  sisters, 
brother,  and  her  relatives  in  England  to  tell  them  of  Uncle 
Chlodwig’s  “good  luck”  and  her  own  happiness  at  the 
contemplated  ending  of  the  “crisis,”  which,  by  the  way, 
had  come  so  suddenly  that  the  royaMadies  and  gentlemen, 
or  at  least  some  of  them,  were  completely  taken  by  sur- 
prise. As  the  Duchess  Frederick  Ferdinand  of  Gliicksburg 
put  it,  in  her  letter  of  reply:  “We  were  just  congratulat- 
ing ourselves  upon  the  vote  of  confidence  William  bestowed 
upon  Caprivi  on  Tuesday,  October  23  (it  was  reported  in 
our  Moniteur^  the  Eckernfoerder  Zeitung,  last  night),  when 
your  Job’s  message  came  to  hand.” 

“There,”  said  Her  Majesty,  as  she  handed  the  bundle  of 
envelopes  to  Herr  von  der  Knesebeck,  “I  have  informed 
everybody  that  my  husband  will  have  peace  hereafter,  the 
chief  cause  of  his  anger  and  irritation,  a querulous  and 
obstreperous  servant,  being  sent  back  into  obscurity.” 


184 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


Needless  to  say,  the  Kaiser  could  not  wait  until  an 
answer  to  Auguste  Victoria’s  letter  arrived  from  Alsace. 
Next  morning,  a Friday,  Herr  von  Lucanus,  Chief  of  the 
Civil  Cabinet,  went  to  Caprivi,  demanding,  in  the  Kaiser’s 
name,  his  immediate  resignation,  and  when  the  General 
had  complied  with  the  request,  William  began  telegraph- 
ing to  Uncle  Chlodwig,  requesting  him  to  accept. 

The  old  Prince  answered  that  he  would  leave  the  decis- 
ion to  his  wife,  who  knew  him  best.  If  “ Marie  ” thought 
the  state  of  his  health  permitted  an  increase  of  his  labors 
at  his  great  age,  he  would  follow  the  King’s  call.  And 
‘‘Auguste  wants  you.  Be  at  the  Schloss  to-night,”  read 
Wilhelm’s  urgent  rejoinder. 

We  ladies  of  the  Court  were  kept  informed  of  these 
high  political  carryings  on  by  the  Emperor  himself,  who 
ran  in  and  out  of  Her  Majesty’s  rooms  constantly  in  those 
eventful  days.  “ I have  just  learned  that  your  aunt  Marie 
is  summering  at  Aussee  ” (with  these  words  the  Kaiser  en- 
tered Her  Majesty’s  study  shortly  before  tea-time);  “send 
her  a despatch  saying  that  the  Fatherland  has  a right  to 
demand  this  sacrifice  of  her.  I need  Hohenlohe;  he  is 
the  only  man  who  can  bridge  over  the  present  crisis.” 

The  Emperor’s  commission,  his  confidence,  made  Her 
Majesty  unspeakably  happy.  “It  is  one  thing  to  be  a 
Queen,  and  another  to  reign,”  she  said,  proudly,  when 
William  had  left,  after  correcting  and  partly  rewriting  her 
despatch. 

Who  could  have  withstood  this  electric  campaign?  Ho- 
henlohe capitulated  after  forty-eight  hours  of  prodding  and 
promising,  and  on  the  30th  of  the  month  their  Majesties 
thanked  Princess  Marie  in  a joint  telegram  for  her  patriot- 
ism and  disinterestedness. 

The  palace  now  once  more  became  a place  where  one 
could  eat  and  sleep  in  comfort,  go  to  bed  at  stated  hours. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  1 85 

and  set  about  one’s  morning  toilet  without  fear  of  being 
called  away  at  the  most  inopportune  moment  to  decipher 
despatches,  run  errands  completely  out  of  one’s  sphere,  or 
help  to  dry  the  royal  mistress’s  tears.  The  Kaiser,  proud  of 
his  victory,  the  assertion  of  his  self-will,  gave  himself  over 
to  the  usual  round  of  pleasures, — the  chase,  all  sorts  of  un- 
veiling and  dedication  ceremonies,  the  theatre,  visiting, 
and  military  display;  the  Empress  made  it  her  business 
to  appear  happy  and  contented.  She  had  been  allowed  to 
play  a political  part,  the  threads  of  a great  state  intrigue 
had  rested  momentarily  in  her  hands;  her  ambition  to 
become  a second  Queen  Louise  might  not  be  unattainable 
after  all.  But  we  propose,  and  our  dear  relations  dis- 
pose. Hohenlohe  had  not  been  in  office  a week  when 
the  fifty-six  other  Hohenlohes  (you  find  them  enumerated 
in  the  Almanach  de  Gotha),  fortified  and  backed  by  their 
one  hundred  and  sixty-odd  grandmothers,  mothers,  aunts, 
wives,  and  daughters,  began  pestering  the  Court,  and 
finally  their  Majesties  themselves,  with  allusions  to  the 
great  discrepancy  between  their  kinsman’s  modest  stipend 
as  Chancellor  and  his  former  salary  as  Emperor’s  lieu- 
tenant in  Alsace, — a difference  of  a round  hundred  thou- 
sand marks  per  annum. 

“It  is  impossible,  from  the  family’s  standpoint,  to  per- 
mit such  a sacrifice  without  indemnification.” 

“The  Prince  belongs,  above  all,  to  his  kindred,  whose 
glory  and  prosperity  he  is  bound  to  help  to  increase.”  The 
latter  phrase  seems  to  be  a free  translation  of  the  semper 
Augiistus  of  the  Roman  imperators.  “ How  can  he  be  ex- 
pected to  live  up  to  his  duties  as  chief  of  the  first  branch  of 
the  younger  line  of  the  Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillings- 
fiirsts  if  he  throws  away  a fortune  every  year  of  his  life?” 

“Uncle  Chlodwig,”  so  ran  another  line  of  argument, 
“is  not  a gay  bachelor,  but  a father  and  grandfather,  an 


i86 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


uncle  and  cousin  times  innumerable.  Dozens  of  Hohen- 
lohes,  besides  his  own  children,  depend  for  part  of  their 
income,  at  present  or  after  his  death,  upon  the  noble  old 
man,  and  to  all  these  the  enormous  curtailment  of  salary  is 
nothing  short  of  a calamity.” 

A third  batch  of  correspondents  bluntly  stated  that 
“inasmuch  as  Hohenlohe  had  consented  to  accept  the 
Chancellorship  to  please  the  Emperor,  His  Majesty  was  in 
honor  bound  to  make  good  his  pecuniary  losses.” 

Epistles  of  this  sort  kept  Auguste  Victoria  in  a turmoil 
all  through  the  month  of  November,  the  Emperor  having 
refused  to  be  disturbed  by  these  screechings,  after  perusing 
one  or  two  of  the  kind  which  showed  conclusively  whence 
the  wind  was  blowing,  as  His  Majesty  expressed  himself. 
Thereafter  letters  postmarked  Waldenburg,  Rauden,  Bart- 
enstein,  Haltenbergstetten,  Budapest,  Lublinitz,  or  from 
any  other  city  or  place  where  the  “damned  curmudgeons 
reside,”  had  to  be  delivered  to  the  Kaiserin,  whether  ad- 
dressed to  William  personally  or  not,  the  occasional  ab- 
sence of  the  well-known  crest,  with  its  tailed  quadrupeds 
and  crowned  fowl,  making  no  difference,  “as  some  princes 
and  noblemen  are  not  above  borrowing  a neighbor’s  seal  ” 
when  they  have  reason  to  believe  that  their  letters,  if  recog- 
nized, may  go  unnoticed. 

d’he  adjutants  du  jour  left  billets-doux  of  that  kind  by 
the  handful  morning  after  morning  at  the  Empress’s 
rooms,  and  Her  Majesty’s  morbid  curiosity,  a character- 
istic strongly  developed  in  lonely  women, — and  the  Em- 
press is  lonely  even  in  her  children’s  midst  and  sur- 
rounded by  a houseful  of  friends, — her  morbidness  made 
her  not  only  notice  these  grievances  and  accusations,  but 
study  them,  ponder  over  them.  Only  once  have  I seen 
my  mistress  unconcerned  when  thus  employed, — at  the 
suggestion  that  Uncle  Chlodwig  needed  a big  salary,  such 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  1 87 

as  he  had  possessed  and  lost,  in  order  to  live  in  the  style 
befitting  his  rank. 

‘‘Uncle  Chlodwig  a pauper!”  she  cried.  “That  is 
news,  indeed;  a poor  man  owning  residential  palaces  in 
several  capitals,  and  castles  and  country-houses  all  over 
Germany  and  in  Austria  ! ’ ’ 

“Of  course,  the  statement  is  ridiculous,”  said  Baron 
von  Mirbach;  “but  it  is  a fact,  nevertheless,  that  His 
Grace  has  been  sorely  disappointed  with  respect  to  his 
Russian  properties,  or  rather  his  wife’s  Russian  inherit- 
ance, the  Wittgenstein  domains.  The  law  prohibiting 
foreigners  from  holding  property  in  Russia  has  forced 
him  to  dispose  of  many  miles  of  territory  at  ruinous 
prices.  ’ ’ 

“I  know,”  said  the  Empress,  “and  am  glad  that  the 
Kaiser  promised  to  intervene  with  the  Czar  on  that  ac- 
count. ‘Nicky,’  I am  sure,  will  arrange  matters  satis- 
factorily.” 

“The  Prince’s  relatives  seem  to  know  nothing  of  such 
an  understanding,”  I remarked. 

“ Of  course  not,”  replied  Her  Majesty,  “ for  it  is  a state 
secret  which,  when  I come  to  think  of  it,  I should  have 
more  respected.  But  now  that  it  is  out,  let  me  add  that  my 
husband’s  promise  to  secure  a favorable  settlement  of  those 
Russian  affairs  did  more  than  all  other  arguments  toward 
persuading  the  Prince  to  accept  the  Chancellorship.” 

This  one-sided  correspondence  would  probably  have  died 
out  after  a while  for  lack  of  argumentative  fuel,  if  for  no 
other  reason,  and  the  matter  of  the  Chancellor’s  salary 
would  have  been  forgotten,  if,  all  of  a sudden,  the  hydra 
of  the  anonymous  letter  had  not  raised  its  head  again. 

Herr  von  Kotze,  the  Imperial  Master  of  Ceremony,  sus- 
pected of  flooding  the  Court  with  unspeakable  accusations 
through  nameless  letters,  had  been  released  from  custody 


i88 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


July  5,  and  the  lascivious  pasquinades — his  alleged  fabri- 
cations— which  regularly  arrived  throughout  the  time  of  his 
detention,  had  ceased  coming  for  months. 

“Your  Majesty  ought  really  not  to  be  so  hard  on  Hohen- 
lohe  on  the  salary  question,  considering  that  you  have  but 
to  ask  your  wife’s  mother  about  the  good  uses  Hohenlohe 
is  making  of  his  wealth.  Indeed,  if  it  had  not  been  for 
^ Cousin  Chlodwig,’  the  Duchess  Adelaide  and  her  children, 
among  them  the  present  German  Empress,  might  have  gone 
hungry  many  a day  while  the  Augustenburger  was  fighting  ’ ’ 
(on  paper)  “for  his  throne. ” This  letter  the  Emperor  found 
in  Berlin,  November  15,  on  the  eve  of  the  day  when  he 
m^ade  that  remarkable  speech  at  the  swearing-in  of  recruits, 
wherein  he  told  those  green  boobies  (in  defiance  of  common- 
sense  and  grammar — I translate  literally)  : “by  donning  the 
King’s  coat  you  have  become  something  aristocratic.” 

William  often  expresses  opinions  of  that  sort,  and  I 
should  not  be  surprised  if  in  his  heart  of  hearts  he  fully 
believed  that  his  uniform  turns  the  average  rustic  lubber 
into  a person  of  distinction,  and  places  him  above  the 
rank  of  citizen.  What  a blow  it  must  have  been  to  him 
to  learn  on  top  of  that  speech  that  his  wife’s  mother,  his 
wife  herself,  at  one  time  were  beneficiaries  of  the  man 
whom  he  had  just  created  chief  servant ! 

That  evening  the  princely  couple  of  Meiningen,  Duke 
Gunther  and  the  hereditary  Princess  of  Hohenzollern,  took 
supper  at  Court,  and  to  these  relatives  the  Kaiser  showed 
the  letter  just  received. 

“You  are  not  going  to  send  Leberecht  back  to  Linden 
Strasse”  (the  military  prison),  said  Princess  Charlotte, 
who  is  intimate  enough  with  Kotze  to  call  him  by  his 
Christian  name. 

“Your  fool-friend  has  no  part  in  my  meditations  just 
now,”  answered  William,  gruffly.  “I  am  thinking  about 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


189 


ways  and  means  to  stifle  this  new  scandal.  The  report — 
whether  true  or  not  is  immaterial — that  the  German  Em- 
press’s mother  accepted  charity  from  a Hohenlohe  must 
not  be  allowed  to  spread,  and  I see  but  one  way  to  prevent 
it : those  salary-grabbers  must  be  appeased ; the  income  of 
Emperor’s  lieutenant  must  be  restored  to  the  Chancellor.” 

Thus  far  the  Emperor  had  spoken  in  a loud,  almost  vehe- 
ment manner,  so  that  the  ladies  and  gentlemen,  standing  at 
a respectful  distance,  lost  not  a syllable  of  his  tirade ; but 
as  he  proceeded  he  lowered  his  voice,  and  I do  not  believe 
that  the  rest  of  his  speech  was  understood  by  anybody  out- 
side of  the  royal  circle,  for,  acting  as  lady  du  jour  on  that 
occasion,  and  as,  besides,  I was  waiting  to  hand  my  mis- 
tress a niouchoir  before  we  went  to  table,  I was  nearest  to 
His  Majesty,  and,  though  my  hearing  is  good,  I failed  to 
catch  a word  of  what  he  said  in  confidence. 

The  import  of  it  all  I learned,  however,  the  same  even- 
ing, without  solicitation  on  my  part,  from  one  of  the  royal 
guests,  who  whispered,  as  we  stood  listening  to  the  music : 

“I  begin  to  believe  those  rumors  charging  my ” (the 

Emperor)  “with  having  made  inroads  upon  the  Guelph 
Fund,  seeing  that  he  means  to  seize  upon  the  Dispositions- 
fond  to  repay  Hohenlohe  for  advances  made  to  his  mother- 
in-law.  ’ ’ 

“What  does  Your  Royal  Highness  mean? ” 

“That  the  Kaiser  told  us  to-night  he  was  resolved  to 
grant  Hohenlohe  an  annual  augmentation  of  his  salary, 
amounting  to  one  hundred  thousand  marks,  out  of  the  fund 
appropriated  by  the  Reichstag  for  the  benefit  of  crippled 
soldiers,  widows,  and  orphans,  and  of  the  victims  of  fire, 
storm,  and  other  elementary  misfortunes.” 

“ Impossible  ! It  would  be  malfeasance.” 

“A  steal;  just  so,  gnddige  Grdfin^  if — if  a semi-demented 
person  could  be  guilty  of  crime.” 


CHAPTER  IX 


Life  at  Court  ran  in  smooth  channels  for  some  weeks 
following  the  little  family  party  just  described ; the  coro- 
neted  graphomaniacs  who  had  embroiled  the  imperial  couple 
in  the  nastiest  sort  of  family  dispute  stopped  writing  after 
firing  one  more  broadside  of  admiration  and  excuses,  in- 
stead of  distrust  and  calumny  as  before,  and  the  political 
horizon  being  unusually  tranquil,  the  Kaiser  and  Kaiserin 
gave  themselves  up  to  the  pleasures  of  the  season.  His 
Majesty  hunting  and  speechifying,  dining  out,  and  enjoy- 
ing little  trips,  the  Empress  knitting  and  sewing  for  the  or- 
phan asylums  and  making  other  preparations  for  Christmas. 

Uncle  Chlodwig”  was  now  a frequent  guest  at  the  Neues 
Palais,  and  his  relations  with  William  were  seemingly  of  the 
best,  although  it  struck  me  that  the  young  Kaiser  treated 
the  old  man  in  a rather  patronizing  way,  as  if  he  meant 
to  insinuate:  ^‘Remember  what  I have  done  for  you,  and 
that,  like  a true  benefactor,  I have  acted  promptly  and 
without  fuss.” 

Toward  the  end  of  the  month  another  anonymous  letter, 
this  time  addressed  to  Her  Majesty,  was  received.  It 
prophesied  grave  troubles,  ‘Uor,”  said  the  writer,  ^^the 
Dispositionsfond  affair  is  known  to  the  press,”  but  as 
nothing  relating  to  it  was  printed  during  the  next  four 
or  five  days.  Her  Majesty  concluded  that  a hoax  had  been 
practised  upon  her.  On  December  6 occurred  the  great 
Reichstag  scandal : the  Socialistic  members  refused  to  rise 

191 


192 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


from  their  seats  when  the  house  honored  the  sovereign  by 
a huzza. 

I thought  Her  Majesty  would  fall  ill  with  indignation 
and  rage  when  the  matter  was  first  brought  to  her  atten- 
tion, but,  contrary  to  expectation,  we  found  the  Kaiser  calm 
and  dignified.  “If  this  demonstration,”  he  said,  in  the 
course  of  the  evening  meal,  “ was  aimed  at  me,  it  was  a 
failure;  it  did  not  reach  the  tips  of  my  boots.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Socialistic  rabble  has  trampled  on  the 
dignity  of  the  Reichstag  wantonly  and  maliciously,  and 
for  this  the  Reichstag  must  demand  satisfaction.  As  for 
my  government,  the  occurrence  is  water  for  our  mills. 
It  means  the  success  of  the  Umsturtz  Vorlage  ’ ’ (the  anti- 
revolutionary bill). 

All  agreed  upon  this  point  as  a matter  of  course,  and 
therewith  the  incident  was  set  at  rest,  we  thought,  so  far  as 
the  Court  was  concerned,  but,  unfortunately,  the  Kaiser 
changed  his  mind  as  to  the  impersonality  of  the  target. 
After  repeating  the  temperate  and  statesmanlike  interpre- 
tation of  the  incident  above  quoted  to  Herr  von  Letzow, 
Baron  von  Buol,  and  Dr.  Biirklin,  the  presidents  of  the 
Reichstag,  who  called  at  the  Neues  Palais  on  Sunday, 
December  9,  he  ordered  Prince  Hohenlohe,  by  an  auto- 
graph note,  indited  twenty-four  hours  later,  to  ask  per- 
mission of  the  Reichstag  to  prosecute  the  Socialist  leader 
Liebknecht  for  lese  majeste  then  and  there,  the  consent  of 
that  body  being  necessary,  as  the  constitution  guarantees 
to  members  of  parliament  immunity  from  arrest  during 
sessions. 

There  was  much  groaning  in  the  palace  when  the  Reichs- 
tag refused  to  create  so  dangerous  a precedent.  The  Kaiser 
characterized  the  unfavorable  vote  by  saying  that  the  na- 
tion’s deputies  were  suffering,  “one  and  all,  from  Rothe 
Ruhr^'  (bloody  flux),  “and  therefore  could  not  be  at  their 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


193 


Emperor’s  service;”  but  the  graver  consequences  of  this 
useless  stirring  up  of  opposition  developed  somewhat  later, 
and  the  Emperor,  Hohenlohe,  and  the  Court  all  suffered 
in  consequence. 

There  appeared,  shortly  before  the  holidays,  in  the 
Berlin  Post^  known  as  the  organ  of  the  foreign  ministries, 
an  entrefilety  purporting  to  correct  a paragraph  printed  in 
an  obscure  Socialistic  sheet,  that  hinted  darkly  at  a con- 
spiracy between  Kaiser  and  Chancellor  to  defraud  a public 
fund,  and,  with  the  clumsiness  that  distinguishes  the  official 
fault-finder,  the  dumped  the  child  with  the  bath- 

water,” as  Bismarck  used  to  say.  It  denied  the  conspiracy, 
and  then  calmly  told  the  damning  truth  of  the  matter ; 
namely,  that  His  Majesty,  in  recognition  of  Prince  Hohen- 
lohe’s distinguished  services,  his  patriotism  and  disinter- 
estedness, had  been  ‘‘graciously  pleased  to  grant  him  an 
extra  subvention  of  one  hundred  thousand  marks  from  the 
charity  fund  at  his  disposal.  ’ ’ Now  the  Post^  an  afternoon 
paper,  is  usually  not  delivered  at  the  Neues  Palais  until 
next  morning,  but  that  night  a stray  copy  found  its  way  to 
the  adjutant’s  room,  and  His  Majesty  appeared  at  the  sup- 
per table  with  a darkened  brow.  He  was  most  ungracious 
toward  Her  Majesty,  and  all  the  ladies,  myself  included, 
were  treated  to  sarcastic  remarks  that  often  approached 
downright  rudeness. 

“A  thunder-storm  is  gathering — I wonder  who  will  be 
hurt?”  remarked  my  neighbor,  Herr  von  Egloffstein,  se^to 
voce.  At  that  moment  the  chasseur  handed  the  Kaiser  a 
letter  bearing  a great  official  seal. 

“There,”  said  His  Majesty  to  the  Empress,  after  perus- 
ing the  missive,  “your  uncle  thanks  me  for  my  good  inten- 
tions, and  relinquishes,  at  the  first  blast  from  the  enemy’s 
camp,  the  fortune  I threw  into  his  lap.  But,”  he  added, 
rising  and  casting  an  inquisitorial  look  around  the  table^ 


194 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


will  find  out  who  bears  tales  from  my  own  house  to 
dirty  newsmongers,  if  I have  to  people  Linden  Strasse 
prison  as  Spandau  was  peopled  at  the  time  of  the  Trosqui 
conspiracy.  ’ ’ ^ 

The  Kaiser  left  the  dining-room  without  offering  his  arm 
to  the  Empress,  and  as  Her  Majesty  followed  him  to  inquire 
the  meaning  of  the  scene,  we  of  the  service  (there  were 
no  guests  that  evening)  were  free  to  hold  an  impromptu 
confab  among  ourselves. 

Adjutant  von  Moltke,  who  had  read  the  Posf,  explained 
the  situation. 

Great  God ! ” cried  Countess  Brockdorff,  His  Majesty 
thinks  one  of  us  played  informer  in  the  Dispositionsfond 
matter.  ’ ’ 

^‘But  this  is  the  first  we  hear  of  it,”  said  Mademoiselle 
von  Bassewitz. 

^Mt  is  the  newest  sort  of  news  to  me,”  shrieked  Fraulein 
von  Gersdorff. 

‘^As  Her  Excellency  knows,”  I said,  looking  straight  at 
the  grand-mistress,  ‘‘Her  Majesty  received  an  anonymous 
letter  threatening  an  expose^  such  as  has  occurred  now,  two 
or  three  weeks  ago.” 

“ I remember,”  replied  Madame  von  Brockdorff,  slowly. 

“But,”  cried  Count  Moltke  and  Herr  von  Egloffstein, 
with  one  voice,  “why  didn’t  you  ladies  report  this  to  His 
Majesty?  The  scandal,  if  not  avoided,  might  have  been 
nipped  in  the  bud.” 

“It  was  the  grand-mistress’s  office  to  give  information 
of  that  kind,”  I said;  an  opinion  in  which  the  gentlemen 
upheld  me. 


'A  mysterious  plot,  in  which  a lady-in-waiting  to  Frederick  the 
Great’s  mother,  Madame  de  Blasphil,  was  involved ; she  escaped  the 
ignominy  of  being  put  on  the  rack  only  by  a miracle. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


195 


While  we  were  still  conversing,  Her  Majesty  returned. 
Her  eyes  were  red,  and  she  was  evidently  laboring  under 
great  agitation.  Calling  Countess  Brockdorff  to  her  side, 
she  began  to  talk  to  her  in  the  most  earnest  manner,  while 
the  rest  of  us  sat  about  aimlessly,  helplessly.  As  Madame 
Carette  says  in  her  Souvenirs  intimes  de  la  cour  des  Tuil- 
eries ^‘The  presence  of  the  sovereign  forbids,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  every  attempt  at  unchecked  conversa- 
tion.” How  much  greater  is  the  strain  when  the  royal 
mistress,  to  the  knowledge  of  all  present,  is  suffering  from 
her  husband’s  displeasure,  and  the  courtiers  themselves  are 
under  a grave  charge  of  suspicion ! When  Her  Majesty, 
long  before  the  usual  hour,  bade  us  a half-hearted  good- 
night, a feeling  of  relief  came  over  me ; but  the  relaxation 
did  not  last  long,  for  when  I reached  my  apartments  I 
found  a printed  notice  under  the  door, — an  order  to  ‘‘ap- 
pear before  the  Royal  Auditeur  in  re  Anonymous  Letters, 
next  morning  at  8 a.m.”  I prepared  to  go  to  Berlin, 
where  all  such  examinations  take  place,  by  an  early 
train,  and  was  not  surprised  to  find  the  court-yard  gay 
with  the  equipages  of  my  colleagues  and  numerous  other 
Court  officials  about  to  embark  on  the  same  errand. 
Together  we  made  up  quite  a party,  filling  all  available 
first-class  railway  carriages,  and  the  Berliners,  seeing  us 
drive  down  the  Linden  an  hour  later,  must  have  wondered 
at  the  sudden  invasion,  though  surely  no  one  suspected 
that  all  these  elegantly-dressed  women,  these  gentlemen  in 
showy  uniforms  and  beribboned  dress-coats,  had  left  their 
luxurious  couches  at  an  unearthly  hour  to  answer  the  sum- 
mons of  the  modern  Vehme. 

A Vehmgericht  indeed,  secret,  unlawful,  tyrannical.  We 
will  treat  of  it  later  on  in  the  chapters  devoted  to  the 
nastiest  Court  intrigue  of  modern  times,  the  anonymous 
letter  scandal.  For  the  present,  it  will  suffice  to  say  that 


196 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


the  judicial  inquiries  neither  yielded  the  name  of  the  person 
who  revealed  the  Emperor’s  secret,  nor  afforded  the  least 
hint  as  to  his  or  her  identity. 

After  this  excursion  into  the  realms  of  high  politics,  a 
milieu  which  I meant  to  avoid  in  these  papers,  but  whose 
allurements  I cannot  escape  at  all  times,  we  will  return  to 
the  subject : the  Kaiser  as  a financier. 

The  preceding  pages  have  pictured  William  to  us  seri- 
ously concerned  about  the  light-hearted  fashion  with  which 
a royal  relative  seemed  to  squander  a dozen  or  more 
twenty-mark  pieces,  and  simultaneously  calling  for  an  out- 
lay of  from  ten  to  twenty  millions  to  promote  some  useless 
building  extravagances.  Again,  we  have  observed  how 
he  reduced  his  modest  Christmas  charity  fund  two-thirds, 
while  at  about  the  same  time  Prince  Hohenlohe’s  salary 
was  increased  in  equal  proportion.  In  both  instances 
William  robbed  the  poor  (or  intended  robbing  them),  to 
the  advantage  of  the  enormously  wealthy,  first  of  a hundred 
and  forty-three  marks,  the  second  time  of  one  hundred 
thousand  marks;  twice  in  succession  he  was  guilty  of 
actions  that,  as  pointed  out,  bespeak  at  once  hard-heart- 
edness, egotism,  and  the  lack  of  certain  mental  faculties. 

And  worst  of  all,  these  are  not  isolated  cases,  the  results 
of  caprice  or  ill-temper;  but  all  through  the  public  and 
private  life  of  the  Emperor  confusion  in  matters  of  finance 
is  noticeable,  like  the  proverbial  red  thread  in  the  British 
marine,  or  red  tape  in  our  own  government  affairs. 

Who  has  not  read  of  William’s  thundering  philippics 
against  luxury  in  the  officers’  corps  of  the  army?  “The 
Prussian  lieutenant,  captain,  and  colonel  must  find  supreme 
satisfaction  in  a frugal  life.  To  live  above  one’s  income  is 
the  source  of  all  social  evil.  Only  the  commanding  gen- 
erals have  ^ duties  of  representation  ’ to  fulfil,  and  their 
Excellencies  shall  not  spend  more  for  the  purpose  than  the 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


197 


State  appropriation  permits,”  are  stock  phrases  of  his  pro- 
nunciamentos  issued  from  time  to  time.  And  as  a varia- 
tion of  the  stories  on  patched  Hohenzollern  trousers,  the 
official  telegraph  bureau  never  fails  to  add  the  interesting 
information  that  the  chief  war-lord  suffers  the  red  facings 
of  his  uniform  to  be  renewed  several  times  before  he  throws 
away  a coat. 

Such  is  the  theoretical  side  of  the  question  ; now  to  the 
practical. 

In  order  to  see  whether  his  commands  are  strictly  obeyed, 
the  Kaiser  invites  himself  to  breakfast  at  the  casino  of  some 
regiment  every  little  while,  announcing  that  he  will  pay  ten 
marks  for  his  and  his  suite’s  entertainment,  not  a penny 
more. 

Now,  the  managers  of  these  institutions  know  that  His 
Majesty  has  his  preferences  as  to  wines  and  victuals,  and 
the  imperial  Court-marshal  is  only  too  ready  to  enumerate 
them  to  the  anxious.  So  French  champagne  of  the  highest 
grade,  costly  Rhine  wines  and  Burgundy,  imported  cordials 
and  cognacs,  are  bought,  also  game  and  fresh  sea-food, 
which  latter  is  a luxury  with  us.  Furthermore,  the  exterior 
and  interior  of  the  club  building  are  decorated,  and  often 
partly  renovated,  ‘‘and  when,  after  all  these  preparations, 
the  lavish  outlay  made,  the  imperial  master  departs  with 
his  corporal’s  guard  of  attendants”  (when  he  has  to  pay  for 
them  he  never  brings  more  than  half  a dozen  gentlemen), 
“and,  on  taking  leave,  remarks,  with  self-satisfied  emphasis : 

‘ You  see,  my  dear  colonel,  ten  marks  is  quite  enough  for 
anybody  to  spend  on  his  stomach ; I have  had  a very  good 
breakfast  ’ (or  dinner),  ‘ indeed,  for  that  amount  at  your 
house,’  you  should  study  the  faces  of  the  subaltern  officers,” 
say  the  Kaiser’s  adjutants.  “ Count  Eulenburg,”  they  argue 
to  themselves,  “ will  send  the  governing  board  sixty  or  sev- 
enty marks  within  the  next  three  months  to  pay  for  the  exact 


198 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


number  of  seats  occupied  by  the  imperial  party,  while  we 
poor  devils  will  have  to  pay  for  the  Piper,  or  Roederer, 
and  the  other  delicacies,  out  of  our  monthly  pittance  next 
week.’’ 

As  a matter  of  fact,  it  costs  a regimental  mess  from  five 
hundred  to  fifteen  hundred  marks  every  time  the  war-lord 
tries  its  ten-marks’  menu  (according  to  the  decorations 
and  renovations  deemed  necessary),  and  the  officers  have  to 
make  up  the  difference.  There  have  been  times  when  the 
pleasure  of  feasting  the  sovereign  cost  the  lieutenants  of 
the  Potsdam  garrison  one-tenth  part  of  their  pay  for  sev- 
eral months  in  succession,  and  when  the  uniformed  gargons 
of  these  pretty  young  fellows  had  to  go  without  their  more 
than  modest  wage  in  consequence.  But  that  is  not  all. 
The  Kaiser’s  adjutants  report  from  time  to  time  stories  of 
wrecked  lives, — lives  of  army  men  who  were  lured  upon 
the  path  that  killeth,  by  the  all-highest  example,  or  in  con- 
sequence of  William’s  casino  visitations. 

It  is  a mistake  to  think  that  the  majority  of  officers  serv- 
ing in  the  Prussian  Guards  are  wealthy  men ; a good  many 
are  sons  of  high  officials,  endowed  with  mighty  titles  joined 
to  a diminutive  salary,  who  can  give  their  boys  but  very 
scant  assistance.  Of  course,  these  handicapped  nonages  de- 
sire to  shine  with  the  rest,  and  working,  as  it  were,  under 
the  eyes  of  the  imperial  chief,  endeavor  to  attract  his  atten- 
tion. Now,  there  is  only  one  way  for  a subaltern  officer  to 
secure  this  boon  under  William  II,  viz. : to  dress  smartly, 
for  the  Emperor  is  known  to  pick  the  best-accoutred  man 
out  of  a hundred  any  time. 

But  if  one  aspires  to  be  the  Beau  Brummel  of  the  ball- 
room, the  hunting-field,  the  club,  the  drill  and  parade 
grounds,  credit  with  the  regimental  wardrobe-master  is 
soon  exhausted.  Tailors  demanding  enormous  profits  as 
an  offset  against  the  risks  involved  have  to  be  employed. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


199 


and  from  them  to  the  Jew  ” is  but  one  step.  According 

to  this  recipe,  Count  von  R , a dashing  Rittmeister  of 

the  Body  Hussars,  was  ruined,  and  Herr  von  L , of  the 

First  Guards,  kept  him  company,  with  hundreds  of  others 
of  lesser  note. 

Herr  von  L ’s  mother,  widow  of  a privy  councillor, 

who  made  her  son  a yearly  allowance,  besides  keeping  a 
family  of  several  unmarried  daughters,  out  of  a pension  of 
forty-five  hundred  marks,  came  to  me  in  the  fall  of  1896,  re- 
questing an  audience  of  Her  Majesty,  and  when,  according 
to  instructions,  I inquired  after  the  nature  of  her  business 
with  my  mistress,  she  confessed,  to  my  utter  consternation, 
that  she  intended  to  petition  the  Empress  to  use  her  influ- 
ence toward  keeping  the  Kaiser  away  from  the  military 

casinos.  Of  course,  to  let  Madame  von  L come  near 

Auguste  Victoria  was  entirely  out  of  the  question  under  the 
circumstances;  but  while,  as  a lady  of  the  Court,  I did  my 
best  to  dissuade  her  from  her  purpose,  as  a woman,  I could 
not  close  my  ears  to  that  poor  mother’s  arguments. 

My  son’s  pay,”  she  said,  ‘‘amounted,  as  you  probably 
know,  to  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  marks  per  month, 
of  which  all  but  forty  marks  were  deducted  for  wardrobe 
account,  representation  and  benefit  funds,  board  and  lodg- 
ing, etc.  Out  of  these  forty  marks  and  half  as  much  again — 
my  own  modest  contribution — Walter  had  to  pay  for  his 
suppers,  his  tobacco,  his  car-fare,  his  amusements  and  in- 
cidentals, and,  though  it  was  hard  work,  he  managed  to 
keep  within  his  income  until  His  Majesty  began  to  invite 
himself  to  the  casino.  After  the  Kaiser’s  first  visit,  my 
boy  had  to  contribute  fifteen  marks  toward  the  cost  of 
the  entertainment,  and,  to  reimburse  himself,  borrowed  a 
double  gold  crown  from  a comrade.  In  the  course  of 
the  next  month.  His  Majesty  repeated  his  costly  visit,  and 
my  boy  was  bled  a second  time.  Then,  after  paying  his 


200 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


comrade,  he  retained  just  five  marks  out  of  his  pay,  while 
a month  of  hunger  and  humiliation  was  staring  him  in  the 
face ! Soon  afterward,  Walter  found  himself  struggling  in 
the  clutches  of  the  usurer,  and  within  six  months  ’ ’ (they 
have  not  much  patience  with  us  penniless  bureaucrats) 
‘‘his  disgrace  was  gazetted.  And  believe  me,”  added  the 
broken-hearted  mother,  “my  son’s  case  is  not  an  excep- 
tional one ; other  promising  young  lives  have  been  wrecked 
in  the  same  way,  and  the  ruin  of  hundreds  of  officers  who 
judge  the  commanding  chief  by  his  deeds  rather  than  by 
his  words  is  but  a question  of  time. 

“For  their  sake,  for  the  sake  of  their  mothers  and 

sisters,”  concluded  Madame  von  L , earnestly,  “I 

am  seeking  audience  with  the  Empress.  I want  to  throw 
myself  at  Her  Majesty’s  feet,  picturing  to  her  the  perils 
to  which  our  sons  are  exposed  by  coming  into  personal 
contact  with  the  Kaiser.  I will  say  to  her : ‘ His  Majesty  is 
certainly  actuated  by  the  highest  motives,  but  the  splendor 
of  his  presence,  the  gorgeousness  of  the  entertainments 
provided  for  him,  are  apt  to  befool  ambitious  young  men 
by  deceiving  them  as  to  their  own  insignificance,  and  by 
lightening  their  sense  of  the  responsibilities  they  owe  to 
themselves,  their  family,  and  their  country.’  ” 

In  this  connection,  an  observation  by  General  von  Kessel, 
then  commander  of  the  First  Guards,  deserves  mention. 
“If  His  Majesty  wants  to  see  his  officers  well  dressed, 
he  should  stop  eating  them  out  of  pocket-money  at  their 
casinos.  They  cannot  afford  to  play  the  host  and  pay 
their  tailors  at  the  same  time,”  said  the  dashing  adjutant 
when  the  imperial  party  returned  from  the  manoeuvres  in 
the  early  fall  of  1895.  Herr  von  Kessel  referred  to  His 
Majesty’s  criticism  of  the  dress  of  certain  officers  of  the 
Breslau  Cuirassiers,  a body  of  troopers  from  whom  William 
demands  hospitality  on  all  occasions. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  201 

In  February,  1897,  I had  the  honor  of  receiving  the 
Princess  Frederick  Charles  of  Prussia  at  the  Berlin  Schloss, 
Her  Royal  Highness  calling  during  the  Empress’s  absence. 
She  was  delighted  to  find  everybody  out.  “1  came  to 
speak  to  their  Majesties  with  respect  to  the  anniversary” 
(the  festivities  in  honor  of  the  late  Kaiser  Wilhelm's  one 
hundredth  birthday),  she  said ; “ the  letter  of  invitation 
prescribes  costumes  of  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  I desired  to  explain  to  His  Majesty  why  I cannot 
comply  with  such  a request.  To  Your  Ladyship  I men- 
tion the  true  reason  without  hesitation,  but,  of  course, 
it  would  have  been  painful  to  me  to  plead  poverty  to 
my  nephew,  he  is  so  hard  of  comprehension”  {begriffs- 
stutzig)  ^‘in  such  matters.  However,  if  the  truth  must  be 
told,  I am  not  rich  enough  by  far  to  spend  ten  thousand 
marks  on  a costume  serviceable  for  one  occasion  only, 
and,  consequently,  must  decline  to  attend,  much  as  I 
regret  it,  unless  the  Kaiser  permits  me  to  appear  in  the 
regulation  ball-dress.  ’ ’ 

When  I delivered  this  message  to  His  Majesty,  he 
scanned  my  face  for  a second  or  two  in  blank  amaze- 
ment as  if  he  thought  I was  joking.  Then  he  laughed. 
‘‘Absurd!”  he  cried,  “a  Princess  of  Prussia  unable  to 
buy  a few  frocks  1 I see  Madame,  my  aunt,  is  getting 
to  be  a niggard  in  her  old  age.  But  she  must  have  her 
will;  my  Herr ^ grandfather  was  always  very  fond  of  the 
Princess,  and  we  cannot  do  without  her  on  this  occasion.” 

During  a reception  held  at  the  Schloss,  on  the  evening 
of  the  same  day.  Princess  Radziwill  spoke  of  the  great  diffi- 
culties that  many  army  officers,  invited  to  the  festivities, 
experienced  to  procure  the  necessary  costumes. 


^ The  Kaiser  never  fails  to  preface  references  to  his  grandfather  or 
his  father  by  the  appellation  of  ‘‘I/err” 


202 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


‘‘These  gentlemen  have  had  a month’s  time  to  prepare 
for  my  pageant,  and  I would  advise  none  to  be  at  all 
laggard  in  complying  with  my  commands,”  said  the 
Kaiser,  haughtily.  “If  there  are  not  enough  tailors  and 
embroiderers  in  Berlin,  the  work  can  be  sent  to  other 
cities.” 

“With  Your  Majesty’s  permission,  it  is  not  the  lack  of 
hands  and  needles,  but  the  scarcity  of  ‘spondulicks,’  or  as 
Her  Royal  Highness,  Your  Majesty’s  sister,  says, — ‘mint- 
drops,’  that  interferes.  A great  many  of  the  younger  offi- 
cers, especially,  can  ill  afford  to  spend  six  to  seven  hundred 
marks  on  a uniform  that  becomes  absolutely  useless  after  a 
few  hours’  wear.  ’ ’ 

“And  where  did  Your  Grace  acquire  all  this  valuable 
information,”  resumed  the  Kaiser,  bowing  formally  and 
accentuating  each  word  with  a semi-sarcastic  sneer. 

“Anywhere,  everywhere  ! They  talk  of  nothing  else  in 
the  salons  and  clubs.”  Princess  Marie’s  French  blood 
was  up.  “I  felt  like  repeating  to  him  what  Pauline  Metter- 
nich  told  the  Empress  Eugenie  : ‘ I was  born  a grand  dame, 
and  I allow  no  one  to  ironyze  me,’  ” she  said,  afterward,  to 
Countess  Brockdorff,  who  remonstrated  with  her  for  losing 
her  temper. 

His  Majesty  merely  shrugged  his  shoulders  at  the  Prin- 
cess’s blunt  speech.  “If  it  is  necessary  to  clothe  my 
guests,  as  well  as  to  feed  them,  I will  appropriate  twenty 
thousand  marks  to  help  your  impecunious  friends  to  pay  for 
their  costumes,  ’ ’ he  said,  and  at  once  changed  the  subject. 
The  promise  had,  however,  been  heard  by  everybody  in 
the  assemblage,  and  as  all  of  us  numbered  at  least  one  poor 
relative  or  friend  among  the  four  hundred  officers  com- 
manded to  the  festival,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  affair  gained 
wide  publicity.  The  news  seemed  to  spread  through- 
out Berlin  and  Potsdam  like  a piece  of  local  intelligence 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


203 


heralded  in  all  the  penny-dreadfuls.  On  the  strength  of  it, 
the  young  roues  of  the  Union  Club  doubled  their  stakes, 
and,  the  same  night,  “ William-the-Bountiful’s”  health  was 
drunk  in  numberless  mess-rooms  and  beer-halls  by  youthful 
members  of  the  aristocracy  and  army  men  whose  greatest 
care  had  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  been  lifted  off  their 
shoulders  by  the  Kaiser’s  words, — lifted  to  descend  again, 
its  weight  doubled  by  chagrin  and  disappointment,  in  the 
course  of  a few  weeks,  for,  to  quote  one  of  His  Majesty’s 
nephews,  the  heir  presumptive  to  a tiny  throne,  “the 
twenty  thousand  marks’  pledge  proved  to  be  an  illusion,  if 
not  something  worse, — a snare ! Being  assiduously  pub- 
lished by  the  Kaiser’s  entotirage  and  members  of  the  Court, 
it  served  its  purpose  admirably. 

“With  reimbursement  guaranteed,  as  they  thought,  the 
officers  commanded  to  the  tableaux  vivants  spared  no  ex- 
pense in  their  costuming.  The  most  magnificent  silks  and 
velvets,  the  costliest  gold  and  silver  embroidery,  were  worn 
by  everybody,  rich  and  poor.  ‘We  don’t  mind  paying  a 
couple  of  hundred  marks  ourselves  in  excess  of  the  Kaiser’s 
allowance,’  argued  these  whole-souled  young  men. 

“The  result  was  the  happiest — for  William:  a display 
gorgeous  and  luxurious  far  above  expectations.  And  when 
it  was  over,  the  Emperor  expressed  his  all-highest  satisfac- 
tion, and  went — hunting.  He  had  seemingly  forgotten 
about  the  twenty  thousand  marks,  and  no  one  dared  re- 
mind him  of  his  promise.” 

As  Lord  Burghley  said  to  Queen  Elizabeth  : “ Those  who 
would  make  tools  of  Princes  are  the  tools  themselves!  ” 

Court  and  society  had  not  yet  ceased  talking  of  this 
exhibition  of  bad  faith,  when  the  Kaiser  startled  the  whole 
country  by  another  incident  bearing  on  finance  to  a cer- 
tain extent.  As  his  brother  Henry  was  about  to  embark 
for  the  Queen’s  Jubilee  in  the  man-of-war  Koenig  Wilhelm, 


204 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


His  Majesty  sent  him  a despatch  expressing  regret  that 
he  had  no  better  ship  to  give  him,  because  those  un- 
patriotic scamps  in  the  Reichstag  refused  me  the  neces- 
sary funds,” — these  being  the  same  ‘‘scamps,”  by  the  way, 
who  consented  to  increase  the  regular  naval  budget  fifty 
per  cent,  during  the  first  seven  years  of  William’s  reign, 
besides  granting  two  hundred  and  seventy-nine  millions  of 
marks’  worth  of  extraordinary  marine  credits. 

Again  that  confusion  as  to  monetary  matters,  of  which  we 
have  already  had  numerous  startling  examples.  “Whether 
you  place  the  nought  before  or  after  the  figure,  it’s  all  the 
same  to  His  Majesty,”  said  Prince  Stolberg.  The  Reichs- 
tag, permitting  the  naval  budget  to  swell  from  twenty- 
seven  millions  per  annum  under  William  I to  fifty-five 
millions  under  William  II,  suffers  the  ignominy  of  a public 
scolding,  exactly  as  if  its  members  had  decreed  sweeping 
reductions  instead. 

There  was  a great  deal  of  speculation  in  the  public  prints 
and  in  political  circles  as  to  the  authenticity  of  the  de- 
spatch quoted,  and  the  majority  of  courtiers  even  inclined 
at  first  to  the  belief  that  Prince  Henry  had  overstepped  his 
authority  when  he  read  the  imperial  message  before  his 
officers  and  thereby  caused  its  publication,  for  the  Prince, 
though  tolerably  good-natured  and  not  bright,  has  the 
reputation  of  a mischief-maker,  and  it  would  be  just  like 
him  to  set  parliament  by  the  ears  at  his  brother’s  expense 
if  there  was  the  slightest  warrant  for  doing  so. 

However,  one  of  the  Kaiser’s  adjutants  told  me  at  least  a 
week  before  the  scandal  became  public  that  His  Majesty  had 
promised  himself  and  them  a kladderadatsch'^  (a  great 
hullabaloo)  “previous  to  his  brother’s  sailing,”  without  inti- 
mating, however,  in  any  way,  wherein  the  hubbub  would 
consist.  Of  course,  that  exonerates  Prince  Henry ; His 
Royal  Highness  evidently  followed  orders,  “performed  his 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


20$ 


damned  duty,”  as  they  say  in  Prussia;  but,  granted  the 
Kaiser  created  this  opportunity  for  insulting  the  Reichstag 
in  a moment  of  anger,  that  would  not  explain  the  several 
palpable  inconsistencies  of  his  message, — the  setting  aside 
of  all  parliament  has  done  for  his  marine  plans ; the  non- 
sense of  the  assumption  that  an  appropriation  made  in 
January  or  February  would  permit  the  placing  in  service 
of  a battle-ship,  or  a number  of  them,  one  or  two  months 
later ; and,  thirdly,  the  obvious  untruth  that  a better  ship 
was  not  available. 

I will  pass  over  the  first-mentioned  contradictions  of 
well-known  facts  to  avoid  repeating  suggestions  of  a patho- 
logical nature ; number  two  comes  under  the  same  heading, 
considering  that  this  idle  talk  emanated  from  a man  of 
affairs,  well  schooled  in  naval  matters.  The  third  point 
is  the  most  interesting,  because  the  most  novel. 

The  Emperor’s  assertion  that  the  Koenig  Wilhelm  was 
the  only  serviceable  vessel  at  his  disposal  I shall  not  attempt 
to  deny,  as  the  Kiel  and  Wilhelmshaven  shipping  lists  prove 
it  utterly  false  and  unwarrantable,  but  I shall  recall  a con- 
versation between  the  Kaiser  and  little  Prince  Adalbert 
that  occurred  a month  or  so  previous  to  the  despatch 
scandal.  Young  Adalbert,  despite  his  tender  years,  is  a 
lieutenant  in  the  marine,  and  his  governor  has  taught  him 
to  exhibit  interest  in  naval  matters  on  all  possible  occasions. 
So,  when  he  heard  his  father  speak  of  “Uncle  Henry’s” 
forthcoming  trip  to  “ Grandma  Victoria,”  he  said,  quickly: 
“ Will  you  let  uncle  have  the  Hohenzollern  ? ” 

The  Kaiser,  who  had  been  very  pleasant  at  luncheon,  and 
whose  humor  had  continued  in  a happy  mood  while  we  were 
sipping  our  coffee  in  the  Tassen  Zinmier,  suddenly  changed 
his  tone.  Assuming  the  style  of  a severe  preceptor,  he 
made  the  frightened  boy  leave  his  mother’s  knee  and 
“stand  at  attention.” 


2o6 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


Under  which  title  does  the  Hohenzollern  rank  in  the 
marine  lists  ? ” he  demanded. 

“ His  Majesty’s  Aviso,  the  yacht  Hohenzollern,  at  the 
Kaiser’s  exclusive  disposal,”  reported  the  tiny  lieutenant. 

‘‘Well,  then,”  said  the  Emperor,  “understand,  sir,  no 
subject  shall  assume  the  Kaiser’s  privileges.” 

His  Majesty  had  spoken  so  severely  and  with  such  exces- 
sive emphasis  that  the  little  Prince  became  frightened  and 
had  to  be  conducted  from  the  room,  while  the  small  assem- 
blage of  officials  and  guests  sat  about  dispirited,  a feeling 
of  unrest  having  replaced  the  previous  joviality. 

“No  subject  shall  assume  the  Kaiser’s  privileges,” — it 
was  more  than  a rebuke ; it  was  a declaration : Everything 
for  William,  the  best,  the  most  expensive  that  money  can 
buy,  a glut  of  everything,  and — as  in  the  days  of  Louis 
XIV — if  there  be  anything  left  after  the  king  had  his  inn- 
ings, well  and  good,  the  rest  may  come  in  for  their  share. 
Under  le  roy  Soleil,  “ the  rest  ” stood  for  the  government  of 
France;  at  the  Berlin  Court,  it  means  the  Empress,  the 
children,  the  royal  relatives,  and  the  Court  generally. 

I shall  yet  have  occasion  to  speak  at  length  upon  the 
finance  of  this  royal  establishment ; may  it  suffice  to  say 
here  that  there  are  no  appropriations  for  the  different  sec- 
tions of  the  household  which  are  not  subject  to  drafts  by 
the  imperial  master.  Prince  Stolberg,  who  ought  to  know, 
once  ventured  the  opinion:  “The  Kaiser  would  as  lief 
gobble  up  our  pension  or  salary  appropriations  as ’ ’ 

“As  the  Guelph  Fund?”  inquired  Duke  Gunther. 

“Your  Highness  is  pleased  to  jest,”  replied  the  grand- 
master, quickly,  and  then,  changing  his  tone  to  one  of 
semi-raillery,  he  continued : “ Forty-eight  millions  of 

marks  ! No  one  could  spend  such  an  amount.” 

“Oh,  yes,  my  brother-in-law  could,”  laughed  the  Duke, 
with  a mysterious  air. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


207 


The  above  conversation,  reported  to  me  by  an  ear-wit- 
ness, took  place  in  May,  1894,  during  the  festivities  attend- 
ing the  prize-shooting  of  the  officers  of  the  Second  Guards, 
in  Potsdam,  and  this  was,  to  my  knowledge,  the  second 
time  Gunther  of  Schleswig  brought  up  the  matter  of  the 
Guelph  Fund. 

The  Guelph  Fund  represents  the  sequestrated  fortune  of 
King  George  of  Hannover,  or  his  heir,  the  Duke  of  Cum- 
berland, and  its  history  is  interesting.  After  annexing  the 
Kingdom  of  Hannover  in  the  summer  of  1866,  Prussia  re- 
stored their  private  fortune  to  the  deposed  Guelphs  by  the 
convention  of  September  29,  1867,  but  there  was  a string, 
or  rather  a steel  cable,  attached  to  this  apparently  volun- 
tary act  of  restitution.  Pointing  out  that  the  poor  blind 
man  whom  he  had  vanquished  might  utilize  his  money  to 
raise  an  army  against  victorious  Prussia,  Bismarck,  with  the 
consent  of  the  Diet,  sequestrated  the  private  property  of 
the  royal  Hannoverians  a second  time,  pleading  that  its 
annual  interest  was  needed  to  ward  off  the  Guelph  party’s 
secret  intrigues  and  stratagems  in  the  German  and  foreign 
press. 

So  the  Guelph  Fund  became  the  Reptile  Fund, — a golden 
trough  out  of  which  the  friends  of  the  government,  or  its 
leading  men,  fed  for  twenty-six  years  ad  libitum there 
being  no  public  accounting,  the  Chancellor  laying  a list  of 
disbursements  before  His  Majesty  at  the  end  of  each  year, 
after  which  act  the  receipts  were  destroyed. 

When,  a year  or  so  after  Bismarck’s  dismissal,  the  Kaiser 
desired  to  re-establish  agreeable  relations  with  Queen  Victo- 
ria, he  instructed  Caprivi  to  offer  restoration  of  the  Guelph 
Fund  on  condition  that  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  formally 


^ Among  other  things,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  was  made  to  pay  the 
debts  of  Minister  von  Boetticher’s  father-in-law. 


2o8 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


renounced  his  rights  to  the  crown.  The  stipulation  was 
accepted, — to  William’s  great  surprise,  it  is  said, — but  as 
an  offset,  the  fatal  string  was  brought  into  play  a second 
time,  and  not  the  fortune  itself;  its  annual  interest  only 
was  handed  over  to  His  Royal  Highness  at  Gmunden. 
Court  gossip  fixes  upon  the  Kaiser’s  unwillingness  to  give 
up  so  large  a fortune  to  which  he  might  have  recourse 
occasionally  (his  own  inheritance  of  forty  million  marks 
having  been  squandered  within  four  years  after  his  father’s 
death)  as  the  principal  cause  of  this  renewed  breach  of 
faith,  but,  quite  naturally,  no  one  has  ever  been  able  to 
verify  this  statement.  Nor  do  I know  of  a person  who 
succeeded  in  tracing  even  a solitary  million  on  its  way  to 
the  Kaiser’s  pockets  from  the  Wilhelmsplatz  or  Festungs- 
graben,  where  the  Ministries  of  Finance  for  the  Reich  and 
Prussia  are  located.  The  only  parties  in  possession  of  the 
true  facts  are,  besides  the  Emperor,  Count  Caprivi,  Prince 
Hohenlohe,  Herr  von  Miquel,  Minister  of  Finance,  and 
Baron  Wedell,  Minister  of  the  Royal  House,  and  neither 
of  these  gentlemen  is  in  the  habit  of  giving  away  his 
master’s  secrets  to  ladies  of  the  Court.  Duke  Gunther, 
on  the  other  hand,  if  his  allusions  are  not  attempts  at 
beating  about  the  bush  in  the  hope  of  entrapping  the 
game  he  is  after,  may  have  got  an  inkling  of  the  affair 
through  his  sister,  the  Empress,  who  can  keep  nothing 
from  him,  or  from  his  relatives  in  Vienna,  notably  the 
Princess  Philip  of  Coburg,  who  in  her  turn  probably 
received  the  news  from  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  himself, 
though  the  latter’s  authority  might  well  be  questioned, 
unless  it  grounds  upon  exact  data  given  out  at  Marlborough 
House.  The  heir  to  the  English  crown,  you  must  know, 
sometimes  has  earlier  and  closer  information  about  mat- 
ters concerning  the  Berlin  Court  than  anybody  connected 
with  it,  for  he  is,  above  all,  the  confidant  of  the  Empress 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


209 


Frederick,  while  the  Princess  keeps  him  posted  on  every- 
thing that  transpires  at  the  Courts  of  St.  Petersburg, 
Copenhagen,  and  Athens,  those  centres  of  anti-Prussian, 
if  not  anti-Wilhelm,  politics.  Under  these  circumstances, 
the  feeling  of  self-satisfied  prognostication  that  swelled 
the  bosom  of  the  knowing  ones  may  well  be  imagined, 
when,  in  the  spring  of  1897  (almost  three  years  after 
the  reported  talk  between  Duke  Gunther  and  Prince  Stol- 
berg),  the  following  story  went  the  rounds  at  the  Neues 
Palais : 

The  Prince  of  Wales,  it  was  whispered,  had  written  a 
letter  to  King  George  informing  him  that  the  Kaiser  gulped 
down  (that  was  the  word  employed)  the  whole  of  the 
Guelph  Fund,  advising  his  brother-in-law  at  the  same  time 
to  use  the  information  as  he  saw  fit  (Greece  was  then  hard 
pushed  by  William),  but,  unfortunately,  Uncle  Bertie,” 
instead  of  sending  it  to  Athens  direct,  forwarded  his  mis- 
sive to  Copenhagen  for  approval  by  his  mother-in-law,  and 
Queen  Louise,  most  innocently  you  may  be  sure,  caused 
the  noble  conspiracy  to  leak  out.  For,  in  a burst  of  con- 
fidence, Her  Majesty  showed  the  letter  to  Princess  Valde- 
mar,  the  same  sprightly  daughter  of  La  Belle  France  who 
stirred  up  the  imbroglio  between  Bismarck  and  Czar  Alex- 
ander not  so  many  years  ago. 

That  Marie  d’Orleans-Bourbon,  on  her  part,  was  unable 
to  constrain  her  triumph  at  the  hope  of  seeing  Germany’s 
Kaiser  humiliated,  is,  perhaps,  not  to  be  wondered  at,  for 
Her  Royal  Highness  detests  the  Emperor  as  heartily  as  she 
adores  France.  So,  with  true  feminine  acumen,  she  sat 
down  and  telegraphed  the  sweet  morsel  broadcast  to  all 
royal  Wilhelm -haters,  or  Princes  that  she  considered  sym- 
pathizers, and  all  wished  the  undertaking  Godspeed, — all 
except  Cousin  Ferdinand  of  Bulgaria.  This  queer  indi- 
vidual, eager  to  oblige  the  Kaiser,  is  said  to  have  betrayed 


210 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


the  confidence  reposed  in  him,  and  informed  His  Majesty, 
hoping  thereby  to  gain  William’s  eternal  gratitude. 

The  rest  is  soon  told.  William’s  threat  to  openly  place 
himself  on  the  Sultan’s  side,  conveyed  in  a personal  letter 
to  King  Christian,  which,  strange  to  say,  was  countersigned 
by  Prince  Hohenlohe,  made  the  would-be  conspirators 
scatter  in  all  directions,  and  immediately  upon  its  receipt 
at  the  Danish  Court,  Albert  Edward’s  message  to  the  King 
of  the  Hellenes  was  given  to  the  flames  in  the  presence  of 
the  German  Minister.  Thereupon  the  diplomatic  side  of 
the  incident  was  declared  closed,  yet  to  his  Uncle  Bertie 
the  Kaiser  is  said  to  have  written  a furious  letter  intimating 
that  he  would  demand  a personal  explanation  from  him 
during  his — the  Prince’s — summer  visit  to  Homburg, — a 
menace  which,  apparently,  did  not  disturb  His  Royal  High- 
ness in  the  least,  for,  instead  of  a direct  reply,  there  arrived 
at  the  Neues  Palais,  a week  or  ten  days  later,  a newspaper 
clipping,  under  seal  of  Marlborough  House,  announcing 
that  in  the  coming  season  His  Royal  Highness  intended  to 
take  the  waters  of  Marienburg;  and  on  the  margin  was 
scribbled  in  German  an  inelegant,  but  whole-souled,  invi- 
tation to  the  imperial  nephew,  the  like  of  which  has  once 
before  been  extended  to  a German  Emperor,  namely,  by 
Goetz  von  Berlichingen,  who  answered  Maximilian  the 
First’s  order  to  surrender  in  the  same  vulgar  fashion, 
while  of  modern  kings  the  late  Victor  Emanuel  is  said  to 
have  been  liberal  with  the  phrase,  as  the  following  anec- 
dote shows : 

After  buying  a pair  of  braces  at  a Paris  haberdasher’s, 
he  was  treated  to  the  inevitable  localism : avec 

Monsieur?"  (What  next,  sir?) 

^‘Avec  ga"  replied  the  King,  who  had  been  importuned 
to  death  by  tradesmen  that  morning, — ^^avec  ga,  je  suspends 
mon  pantalon  et  vous ” 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


2II 


The  Guelph  Fund  story,  as  intimated,  is  palace  gossip, 
no  more,  no  less, — gossip  that  originates  with  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen  in  attendance  upon  their  Majesties,  no  one 

knows  exactly  how.  Countess  B happens  to  learn  of 

an  important  secret  event  through  Her  Majesty’s  ill-temper 
or  confidences,  and,  again,  a hint  may  be  dropped  at  dinner 
or  supper  coram  nobis  by  the  Kaiser  himself,  whose  tongue 
not  unfrequently  runs  away  with  his  head.  To-day  one  of 
the  Emperor’s  adjutants  may  have  a good  story  to  relate 
that,  without  involving  a breach  of  faith  on  the  gentleman’s 
part,  gives  the  key  to  a perplexing  situation,  while  letters 
from  other  courts,  the  tattle  of  princely  visitors,  correspond- 
ence of  high  aristocrats  or  statesmen,  a ministerial  crisis,  a 
sudden  lapse  in  the  routine  of  royal  employment,  as  a visit 
postponed  or  a ^‘headache  to  order,”  complete  the  chain 
of  evidence  that  linked  together  of  its  own  accord,  as  it 
were,  and  in  the  end  reveals  hidden  springs  of  action  and 
private  views  and  motives  of  individuals  affording  a better 
analysis  of  the  minds  of  historic  personages  than  a whole 
library  of  ordinary  contemporaneous  accounts,  written  by 
mere  outside  spectators,  who  faithfully  copied  each  other. 

I repeat,  I cannot  vouch  for  the  truth  of  the  Guelph 
Fund  report  as  I do  for  other  strange  facts  in  these  vol- 
umes that  came  under  my  personal  observation,  for  all  the 
evidence  I was  able  to  collect  on  that  point  is  of  the  hear- 
say variety, — and  there  are  very  good  reasons  why  this 
should  be  so ; but  I have,  besides,  one  strong  bit  of  cir- 
cumstantial evidence:  Prince  Hohenlohe  has  been  holding 
office  against  his  will  for  three  years  or  longer  because  he 
cannot  step  out  until  the  Guelph  Fund  affair  is  settled, 
that  is,  until  the  capital  of  that  great  fortune  is  once  more 
intact.  This  I have  from  an  authoritative  source. 

We  now  return  to  the  Koenig  Wilhelm  despatch.  While 
the  press  of  the  entire  world  was  engaged  in  a heated 


212 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


discussion  as  to  the  genuineness  or  the  apocryphal  character 
of  the  message,  His  Majesty  enjoyed  himself  hugely  at  the 
commotion  he  had  caused. 

^^Der  Hieb  hat  gesessen"  (that  was  a blow  from  the 
shoulder),  are  words  he  addressed  to  every  visitor  at  Court 
in  those  days,  without  prefacing  his  extraordinary  remark 
by  even  an  allusion  to  the  matter  he  had  in  mind.  And 
to  General  von  Buddenbrock,  the  same  gentleman  whose 
hussars  were  decimated  at  Josefstadt  (in  1866)  by  Prussian 
batteries,  he  said:  ‘‘Of  course  the  telegram  is  authentic. 
Why  should  I not  tell  my  brother  what  I think  of  those 
scamps?  Though  I care  not  to  abuse  them  face  to  face 
when  they  are  guests  at  my  house,  I propose  to  speak  my 
mind  privately,”  and,  anticipating  His  Excellency’s  ques- 
tion, whether  the  publication  had  been  intentional  or  not, 
he  continued:  “I  am  right  glad,  too,  my  brother  made 
use  of  my  words  promptly  and  without  sentimental  ado.” 

Here  we  have  almost  as  many  contradictions  as  sen- 
tences : Personally  His  Majesty  does  not  want  to  insult  the 
Reichstag;  his  denunciations  were  of  a private  nature,  and 
he  wishes  them  proclaimed  from  the  housetops  ! Whether 
such  a state  of  mind  indicates  merely  morbid  impulsiveness, 
or  a dangerous  confusion  of  sentiments  and  ideas,  is  a ques- 
tion I asked  of  a renowned  medical  professor  of  the  Berlin 
University,  one  of  the  late  Emperor’s  physicians,  who  occa- 
sionally visits  the  Schloss.  The  great  man  weighed  the  matter 
in  his  mind  for  a few  moments,  and  then  replied,  evasively : 

“ One  riddle  is  worth  another,  Madame  la  Comtesse.  I 
am  told  that  on  the  day  of  Princess  Victoria,  the  present 
Empress’s,  ceremonious  entry  into  the  capital,^  the  Kaiser, 
then  Prince  William,  marched  his  battalion  of  infantry  from 
Potsdam  to  Berlin  (a  distance  of  twenty  miles)  for  the  avowed 


^ February  26,  1881. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


213 


purpose  of  startling  his  bride  by  his  prowess.  On  the  road, 
many  of  the  soldiers  became  exhausted,  but  the  captain, 
who  was  on  horseback,  as  a matter  of  course,  arrived  in 
first-class  condition,  and  ever  since  has  been  boasting  of 
this  particular  feat, — ‘a  par  force  march  on  the  wedding 
eve.’  Now,  as  a matter  of  fact,  William  did  not  walk  ten 
paces  on  that  occasion,  and,  furthermore,  the  thing  came 
off  fully  twenty-four  hours  before  his  bride’s  garter  was 
distributed.  The  Kaiser’s  boast  of  ^planting  his  victori- 
ous standard  upon  the  fortress  after  a Sheridan’s  ride,’  is, 
therefore,  as  unwarrantable  as  it  is  ridiculous.  Still,  this  is 
one  of  his  stock  anecdotes  which  he  relates  at  all  weddings 
graced  by  the  imperial  presence. 

^^In  this  case,”  concluded  the  great  physician,  ^impul- 
siveness, the  spontaneous  desire  to  do  something  extraor- 
dinary, doubtless  led  to  the  conception  of  the  idea, — the 
rest  is  utter  confusion.” 

Certain  members  of  the  opposition  have  characterized 
the  Kaiser’s  action  (in  June,  1897)  of  ordering  the  Konigs- 
berg  pioneers  to  make  for  him  a number  of  improve- 
ments in  Theerbude  forest  by  building  cottages  and  sheds 
as  ‘^confounding  mine  and  thine,”  and  “as  malfeasance 
worthy  of  a satrap  who  recognizes  no  distinction  between 
the  state’s  and  his  own  individual  resources;”  but  this  ex- 
ploit, though  calling  in  question  his  boasted  concern  for 
the  working-classes,  did  His  Majesty  less  harm  with  the 
Germans  than  his  refusal,  a month  or  so  after  the  awful 
holocaust  of  royal  and  aristocratic  women  at  the  Paris 
Bazaar,  to  extend  a helping  hand  to  the  victims  of  the 
great  floods  in  Wiirtemberg.  For  the  foreigners  “his” 
Dispositionsfond  yielded  promptly  a four-nought  contribu- 
tion, together  with  a hysterical  telegram  of  condolence;  the 
South  German  allies,  who  contribute  toward  the  fund,  got 
neither  money  nor  sympathy,  and  in  consequence  the  mail 


214 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


of  both  their  Majesties  was  again  heavy  with  anonymous 
letters,  some  of  them  illustrated. 

Such  caricatures ! Among  others  was  a cartoon,  in 
colors,  that  represented  the  Kaiser  kneeling  before  the  bed 
of  Madame  la  Republique,  and  pouring  gold  into  her 
naked  lap  out  of  a bag  marked  ‘‘The  Reich's  Dispositions- 
fond  for  the  Benefit  of  German  Veterans,  Widows,  and 
Orphans,”  and  almost  every  one  of  the  nameless  corre- 
spondents pointed  out  that  the  Emperor  had  never  been 
guilty  of  a generous  act  lacking  in  theatrical  possibilities. 
Still,  the  worst  feature  of  these  letters  was  their  origin. 
They  were  evidently  not  of  the  scandal-mongering  sort,  of 
which  mention  has  been  made,  but  expressions  of  righteous 
indignation,  of  honest  opinion,  forced  to  anonymity  by  the 
prevailing  draconic  laws  against  lese  jnajeste. 

“What  a blessing  these  people  calculate  but  one  half  of 
the  truth,  ’ ’ I thought,  when  the  Empress  turned  some  of  the 
epistles  and  cartoons  over  to  me,  that  I might  help  her  shud- 
der “at  a nation’s  ingratitude.”  If,  like  myself,  they  had 
heard  William  say,  after  mailing  “his”  ten-thousand-franc 
check — their  money — to  the  French  capital : “That  brings 
me  nearer  to  Paris  a hundred  miles ; if  such  opportunities 
continue,  they  will  send  a special  train  to  Berlin  to  carry 
me  to  their  Exposition,”  the  rage  of  these  critics  might 
have  assumed  a more  dangerous  form  than  the  one  adopted. 

There  is,  after  all,  more  method  in  the  secrecy  that 
hedges  round  a throne,  and  likewise  a greater  amount 
of  shrewd  circumspection  in  the  publicity  accorded  to  a 
King’s  words  and  actions  by  paid  and  voluntary  scribes, 
than  most  people  imagine.  In  May,  1897,  for  instance,  all 
the  newspapers  commented  upon  some  rather  trite  remarks 
the  Kaiser  had  made  in  Wiesbaden  about  so-called  charity 
bazaars,  “ whose  receipts  are  eaten  up  by  the  cost  of  the 
entertainment,  and  where  the  poor  are  cheated.”  These 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


215 


observations  were  heralded  as  something  entirely  new,  and 
when,  a month  or  so  afterward,  the  Empress  announced  a 
flower  corso  for  the  benefit  of  the  Potsdam  ^^Krippe^'  and 
invited  society  on  condition  that,  in  obedience  to  His 
Majesty’s  wishes,  the  decorations  be  less  lavish  than  usual, 
while  the  money  thus  saved  be  handed  over  for  the  chari- 
table object  in  view.  Court-marshal  Count  Eulenburg,  as 
well  as  we  ladies,  who  have  more  or  less  to  do  with  the 
Kaiserin’s  toilet,  expected  to  receive  orders  to  keep  the 
preparations  for  the  festival  within  certain  limits.  But 
the  very  opposite  happened.  Auguste  Victoria  selected 
the  costliest  of  all  the  Vienna  toilets  proposed,  a superb 
cream-colored  gown,  and  instead  of  going  out  in  two 
coaches,  as  formerly,  four  were  placed  into  service  for  the 
royal  family,  not  counting  those  of  the  Court-marshals, 
equerries,  chamberlains,  and  dames  of  the  palace. 

At  the  corso,  which  was  held  in  Potsdam,  near  the 
^‘Russian  colony,”  Her  Majesty’s  carriage,  containing, 
besides  herself.  Prince  Joachim  and  her  little  daughter, 
was  nearly  hidden  under  a load  of  Marechal  Niel  roses, 
imported  from  France  and  Holland  at  a tremendous  out- 
lay; the  Princes  Adalbert,  Augustus  Wilhelm,  and  Oscar 
rode  in  a landau  lavishly  decorated  with  white  carnations, 
the  Crown  Prince  and  Prince  Eitel  Fritz  in  a phaeton  made 
gay  by  ten  thousand  red  pinks  and  ribbons,  and  the  floral 
embellishments  of  the  Kaiser’s  coach  represented  the  colors 
of  Schleswig-Holstein. 

The  other  royal  and  aristocratic  participants  in  the  pag- 
eant had  likewise  taken  care  to  shine  by  sovereign  disre- 
gard of  the  imperial  injunction  against  extravagance,  but 
to  their  credit  it  must  be  said  that  nearly  all  of  them  sent 
very  considerable  sums  to  the  ^'‘Krippe'^  next  day,  ‘^sav- 
ings out  of  our  decoration  fund,”  as  their  perfumed  missives 
tQ  the  august  lady-protector  rag^estly  declared, 


2 1 6 PRIVATE  LIVES  OF  WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 

And  their  Majesties?  William  and  his  Queen  had  no 
occasion  to  remember  their  high-sounding  proclamations, 
seeing  that  a purveyor’s  bill  of  several  thousand  marks  for 
the  embellishment  of  the  royal  carriages  was  staring  in 
their  faces.  Heretofore  royal  gardeners  had  attended  to 
the  corso  decorations,  there  being  always  an  abundance 
of  flowers  in  our  parks  and  hot-houses ; but,  with  that  con- 
trariness which  now  and  again  distinguishes  the  Kaiser’s 
actions,  he  ordered  that  the  work  be  intrusted  to  a high- 
priced  Berlin  florist,  at  the  very  instant  when  saving  was 
the  prime  object  of  the  hour. 

Hence  tears  and  lamentations  in  the  Empress’s  apart- 
ments, most  unroyal  frowns  on  the  Kaiser’s  brow,  while  the 
papers  were  echoing  both  Majesties’  praises  for  arranging 
charity  entertainments,  “every  participant  of  which  con- 
tributes to  the  benefit.” 

The  ^^Krippe''  got  nothing  from  the  Neues  Palais  that 
season,  but  what  matters  that  so  long  as  the  press  applauds? 


CHAPTER  X 


Baron  von  Poellnitz,  chronicler  of  two  centuries,  or  the 
most  interesting  part  of  them  (the  last  decade  of  the  seven- 
teenth and  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth),  the  scamp, 
gamester,  adventurer,  spy,  roue,  libertine,  in  short,  past- 
master  of  all  vices  that  distinguished  the  courtiers  of  the 
Orleans  Regency,  and  the  times  of  one  Frederick  William 
and  two  Fredericks  of  Prussia, — Poellnitz,  whom  serious 
historians  detest,  but  cannot  afford  to  neglect, — describes, 
in  one  of  his  letters,  a statue  which  formerly  decorated  one 
of  the  inner  court-yards  of  the  Berlin  Schloss, — Madame 
Borussia  embracing  a horse. 

‘‘This  lady,”  says  the  disciple  of  Duchesse  la  Palatine’s 
plain-speaking  school,  “became  the  foremother  of  the 
Hohenzollerns,  though  she  was  never  known  to  have  com- 
merce with  Burchard  de  Zolorin,  their  reputed  male  ances- 
tor. Do  you  wonder  that,  under  the  circumstances,  our 
sovereigns  are  animal  every  inch,  insensitive  to  the  appeal 
of  the  weak,  regardless  of  the  other  sex  except  for  purposes 
of  procreation,  stubborn,  proud  and  aggressive  like  stal- 
lions, roaring  of  voice,  uncompanionable,  gluttonous?” 

And,  for  example,  he  cites  a cabinet  order  by  Frederick 
William,  admonishing  all  subjects  “whom  the  King  may 
honor  by  taking  meals  at  their  houses”  to  place  in  the 
room  adjoining  the  dining-hall  “a  heap  of  straw,  a lighted 
candle,  wash-basin,  towel,  and  soap.”  Of  another  royal 
Hohenzollern,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  lower 

217 


2i8 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


order  of  mankind, — Frederick  William  II,  the  Fat, — it  is 
reported  that  he  did  not  stand  on  much  ceremony  provided 
there  was  some  novelty  in  the  line  of  ‘‘a  rag,  a bone,  and 
a hank  of  hair,”  and  an  abundance  of  eating  and  drinking. 
The  first  three  kings  of  the  present  century  bore  out  the 
charges  of  unsociableness  and  pride  by  accepting  invitations 
from  uncrowned  heads  but  rarely;  William,  however,  has 
revived  the  old  royal  custom  of  going  the  round  of  the 
palaces  and  country  residences  of  the  nation’s  great,  and, 
in  consequence,  Poellnitz’s  satire,  which  somebody  has 
just  discovered  in  the  Charlottenburg  Archives,^  is  to-day 
eminently  popular  in  our  so-called  “polite  ” circles. 

While  His  Majesty  inflicts  his  costly  presence  upon  the 
nobles  and  rich  officials  of  Berlin  and  Potsdam  according 
to  his  whims  and  preferences  for  society,  and  following  the 
course  of  such  events  as  birthdays,  weddings,  house-warm- 
ings, and  similar  domestic  affairs  in  the  families  of  the 
aristocracy,  his  visits  to  the  hunting-grounds  of  friends  in 
all  parts  of  Germany  are  matters  of  routine,  as  he  looks 
upon  the  utilization  of  the  country’s  preserves  as  a regalism 
in  the  old  feudal  sense,  as  his  sovereign  right.  Whoever, 
be  he  prince  or  private,  asks  the  Kaiser  to  a shooting  once, 
is  sure  of  receiving,  at  the  opening  of  the  next  season,  a 
letter  from  the  Court-marshal’s  office  announcing  that  His 
Majesty  will  be  graciously  pleased  to  decimate  his  game 
on  such  and  such  days,  unless,  indeed,  the  first  hunt  was 
entirely  unproductive. 

The  meets  of  royalty  do  not  interest  us  here ; since  the 
author  of  “Antimacchiavell  ” summoned  the  heavy  artillery 


^ Poellnitz  wrote  “ Memoirs  of  the  Court  of  Frederick  William  I,” 
which  that  King’s  son,  Frederick  the  Great,  confiscated  and  destroyed 
in  part,  at  least.  His  other  work,  “ Memoirs  and  Observations  of  My 
Travels,”  was  republished  thirty  years  ago. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


219 


of  his  wit  and  terrible  wrath  against  this  physical  pleasure, 
which  often  undermines  health  without  ever  improving  the 
mind,” — if  you  say  the  old  patriarchs  were  devoted  to  the 
chase,  and  therefore  hunting  must  be  respectable,  I make 
answer  that  the  old  patriarchs  slept  with  their  sisters ; but 
has  that  made  incest  honorable  ? ’ ’ reasons  the  philosopher 
of  Sans  Souci, — since  the  days  of  Neuruppin  and  Wusters- 
hausen  royal  hunts  have  not  improved;  on  the  contrary, 
there  is  a dull  sameness  about  them  that  makes  this  form  of 
sport  the  reverse  of  attractive.  The  Kaiser’s  jolly  shooting 
jaunts  with  the  great  lords,  on  the  other  hand,  yield  many 
engaging  sights  and  characteristic  episodes.  His  Majesty’s 
annual  programme  for  the  chase  at  home  and  abroad  is  as 
follows : 

As  the  customary  Court  festivities  forbid  longer  jour- 
neys, the  Kaiser  utilizes  the  first  months  of  the  year  to 
repay  the  compliments  of  his  hunting  friends  all  over  the 
country,  and  his  master  of  the  hounds  issues  liberal  invita- 
tions for  all  sorts  of  meets,  on  foot  and  on  horse,  to  be 
held  in  the  neighborhood  of  Berlin  and  Potsdam  where 
pheasants,  ducks,  hare,  and  deer  abound  in  the  royal  pre- 
serves. 

In  April,  William  helps  the  Grand  Dukes  of  Saxe  and 
Baden  to  kill  woodcock;  and  if  Count  Schlitz,  known  as  the 
husband  of  one  of  the  most  beautiful  women  of  Germany, 
finds  a good  crop  of  these  rare  birds  on  his  Hesse  domains, 
he  never  fails  to  ask  William  to  gather  additional  trophies 
for  Her  Majesty’s  hats  and  boas. 

In  May,  the  Kaiser  goes  to  Proeckelwitz  and  Schlobit- 
ten  to  relieve  Count  Richard  zu  Dohna  of  roebucks ; par- 
tridges he  shoots  at  Count  Finkenstein’s,  in  Madlitz,  and 
then  follows,  usually,  an  excursion  to  Styria,  where  either 
the  Emperor  of  Austria,  or  one  of  the  many  Archdukes, 
places  tempting  preserves  at  the  imperial  Nimrod’s  disposal. 


220 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


The  rut  of  hart  calls  the  Kaiser  to  Rominton,  East  Prus- 
sia, in  September;  the  season  in  the  Schorfheide,  nearer 
home,  comes  next,  and  then  opens  the  chase  for  red  deer  gen- 
erally, which  the  Kaiser  follows  in  every  nook  and  corner 
of  his  Empire,  in  his  own  forests,  and  on  the  domains  of 
the  noble  and  industrial  barons.  As  an  annual  customer, 
he  is  registered  at  Pless,  where  Prince  Henry  XI  sometimes 
allows  him  to  hunt  one  or  two  of  the  remaining  ure-oxen; 
at  Wirschowitz,  the  estate  of  Count  Hochberg ; at  Barby, 
where  Amtsrath  von  Dietze  offers  splendid  hospitality;  at 
Count  Philip  Eulenberg’s  seat  in  Liebenberg,  and  at  Neu- 
gattersleben,  where  Chamberlain  von  Alvensleben  does  the 
honors. 

All  these  gentlemen  are  William’s  personal  friends, 
though  only  two  are  in  the  inner  circle,  Richard  Dohna 
and  Philip  Eulenburg, — the  first  by  reason  of  his  joviality, 
the  other  because  he  is,  besides  a good  story-teller  and 
entertainer,  an  assenter  of  the  first  order,  and  a person 
such  as  every  absolute  king  needs  at  his  elbow  for  certain 
work  at  certain  times.  True,  William  is  not  an  autocrat, 
though  he  tries  hard  to  be,  and  Count  “Philli’s”  duties  are 
of  the  most  vacillating  character;  but  these  details  do  not 
alter  His  Lordship’s  position,  which  is  eminently  that  of 
the  royal  favorite  of  by-gone  days,  who  made  and  unmade 
men  during  a day’s  hunting,  while — the  preferred  one  being 
a woman — ‘^a  night  sufficed  to  destroy  anybody,  high  or 
low,  sell  a province,  or  depopulate  a city,”  as  Lady  Milford 
says  in  ^‘Love  and  Intrigue.” 

Herr  von  Kiderlen-Wachter,  German  Minister  in  Copen- 
hagen, is  another  imperial  intimus  of  the  favorite  type, 
while  Count  Dohna  and  Chamberlain  von  Huelsen,  in 
Wiesbaden,  are  mere  cronies  who,  knowing  the  ins  and 
outs  of  the  Kaiser’s  character  and  forever  studying  his 
whims  and  knuckling  to  his  idiosyncrasies,  gradually 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


221 


became  part  and  parcel  of  his  travelling  equipage  and 
shooting  outfit,  whose  absence  at  any  festive  or  joyful  occa- 
sion would  annoy  William  almost  as  much  as  if  his  valet 
had  forgotten  to  pack  his  brushes  or  combs  or  slippers. 
This  is  not  a simile  of  my  own,  if  you  please ; I have  it 
from  the  Kaiser,  who  often  uses  it  when  the  papers  criti- 
cise Count  Philli’s  frequent  absence  from  his  ambassadorial 
post  in  Vienna  with  some  such  remark  as:  “he  is  not 
paid  to  dance  attendance  upon  the  Emperor,”  or,  “if  His 
Majesty  wants  a travelling  companion,  let  him  invite  some 
useless  goldstick,  not  an  official  who  has  certain  duties  to 
perform.” 

“Courtiers,”  said  the  Kaiser  on  one  of  these  occasions, 
“are  like  the  clothes  I wear,  dire  necessities;  they  have 
their  fixed  places  in  my  entourage,  above  which  they  seldom 
rise.  Such  men  as  Eulenburg  and  Kiderlen,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  butter  on  the  bread  of  our  pleasure ; as  for  the 
rest,  one  can  get  along  without  negligee  attire,  but  it  is 
mighty  uncomfortable  in  the  long  run.” 

When  His  Majesty  goes  to  a shooting,  he  seldom  stays 
longer  than  two  days,  the  cost  of  his  entertainment  being 
between  forty  and  fifty  thousand  marks,  and  one  need  but 
glance  at  the  preparations  on  the  host’s  part  to  appreciate 
the  enormity  of  the  outlay,  which,  moreover,  is  vastly 
larger  at  the  first  visit.  The  country  residences  of  our 
Prussian  grandees,  you  must  know,  are,  as  a general  thing, 
quite  innocent  of  sanitary  arrangements,  and  often  several 
rooms  must  be  entirely  rebuilt  and  furnished  with  running 
water  before  His  Majesty  will  set  foot  in  the  house.  Now, 
an  unsophisticated  reader  might  think  that  to  plead  old- 
fashionedness  would  scare  away  William  and  save  one’s 
money,  but  that  is  a wild  miscalculation.  If  the  Emperor 
scents  a full  game-bag  on  any  baronial  domain,  he  will 
invite  himself  to  the  feast  sans  phrase,  and  not  until  all 


222 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


arrangements  have  been  completed,  and  when  it  is  too  late 
to  raise  objections  of  the  nature  intimated,  does  the  Court- 
marshal  put  in  the  standing  claims  of  his  master : A bed- 
room similar  in  all  respects  as  to  size  and  appointments  to 
the  Kaiser’s  own  chamber  at  home,  brass  bedstead,  horse- 
hair mattress,  an  enormous  wash-stand,  windows  and  doors 
secured  by  endless  numbers  of  curtains  and  portieres^  and — 
here  comes  the  rub — a connecting-room  with  the  latest 
paraphernalia  of  the  bath. 

‘‘Mark  Twain  has  written  many  funny  things  about  the 
German  and  his  tub,  or  the  absence  of  the  latter,”  said 
Court-marshal  Count  Eulenburg  to  me,  after  meeting  the 
American  humorist  at  a dinner  given  by  General  Verdy 
du  Vernois  in  the  winter  of  1891;  “but  he  could  surpass 
himself  if  I were  free  to  give  him  only  part  of  the  corre- 
spondence I have  had  with  our  nobility  on  the  subject  of  pro- 
viding adequate  bathing  requisites  for  His  Majesty.  How 
they  struggle  and  twist  and  squirm  against  the  introduction 
of  this  novelty,  which,  they  claim,  would  destroy  the  har- 
monious appearance  of  rooms  that  for  three  hundred  years 
v/ere  untouched  by  the  mode.  One  gentleman,  in  the 
province  of  Prussia,  tried  to  evade  the  obnoxious  obliga- 
tion by  impudently  suggesting  that  he  dared  not  offer  His 
Majesty  a bath  after  one  night’s’ journey,  as  it  involved  the 
insinuation  of  excessive  dirtiness  on  his  guest’s  part. 

“While  I sympathize  with  many  of  His  Majesty’s  hosts, 
who  can  ill  afford  to  entertain  the  most  luxurious  monarch 
of  the  age,”  continued  the  good-natured  grand-master, 
“lam  as  adamant  as  the  proverbial  r ocher  de  bronze  when 
asked  to  tolerate  aristocratic  principles  of  that  sort.  If  the 
Kaiser’s  travels  served  no  other  purpose  than  that  of  pro- 
moting cleanliness,  his  time  would  be  well  spent.” 

Subscribed  and  agreed  to,  Herr  Graf,  but  these  so-called 
novelties  are  really  the  least  costly  items  of  an  imperial 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


223 


visit,  even  if  Berlin  plumbers  have  to  be  imported  into  re- 
mote corners  of  the  kingdom  to  execute  your  commands. 
Luxurious  bedroom  furnishings,  the  carpeting  throughout 
of  spacious  country  residences,  sometimes  ordered  if  Wil- 
liam honors  one  of  his  subjects  in  midwinter,  are  items  of 
expenditure  of  far  greater  magnitude,  though  scarcely  the 
beginning  of  the  end. 

I do  not  agree  with  a certain  Pomeranian  squire  who 
complained  that  the  Emperor’s  first  visit  cost  him  twenty 
thousand  marks  more  than  Prince  Pless  paid  for  the  pleas- 
ure of  harboring  the  sovereign  because  he  had  to  build  a 
carriage-road  to  the  railway  station,  ten  miles  off, — that 
highway  will  endure  and  benefit  coming  generations  when 
the  Baron  ^^and  the  proudest”  (and  costliest)  moment 
of  his  life”  are  long  forgotten;  but  to  force  one’s  enter- 
tainer to  provide  a four-in-hand — one  of  the  implied  con- 
ditions of  every  royal  visit — comes  dangerously  near  sowing 
the  seeds  of  extravagance. 

And  those  Potemkin  villages  ! That  nothing  may  grate 
upon  the  imperial  feelings,  the  Herr  Graf  or  Fuerst  com- 
pels his  peasants  to  whitewash  and  paint  farm-house  and 
hovel  for  miles  around  and  sometimes  pays  for  the  beauti- 
fying out  of  his  own  pocket.  Furthermore,  he  must  furnish 
greens  and  flags  to  decorate  the  streets,  engage  numerous 
torch-bearers  to  light  up  the  highway  on  the  eve  of  the 
arrival  and  during  the  nights  of  the  visit,  and  employ  four 
hundred  to  five  hundred  beaters,  at  the  very  least,  a week  or 
longer.  For  His  Majesty  is  not  content  to  shoot  the  game 
on  his  friend’s  domain  ; his  host,  if  he  loves  his  peace,  will 
hire  all  the  hare,  deer,  or  roe  for  a dozen  German  miles 
in  the  neighborhood  and  let  them  be  driven  into  his  own 
preserves.  Of  course,  the  dislodged  game  does  not  remain 
voluntarily  in  its  new  environment,  and  must  be  kept  from 
running  away  by  continuous  beating  up ; sometimes,  too, 


224 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


great  numbers  are  trapped  in  other  parts  of  the  province 
and  carried  to  and  kept  in  thickets  on  the  spot  selected  for 
the  chase,  to  be  released  when  the  great  slaughter  is  at  its 
height. 

While  outside  preparations  of  this  kind  eat  up  tens  of 
thousands,  those  for  the  inner  man  are  not  less  costly. 
The  Kaiser  seldom  brings  fewer  than  twenty  gentlemen, 
and  even  more  servants,  all  of  whom  must  be  lodged  and 
fed  and  horsed,  and  do  not  forget  that  a royal  flunky  in  a 
strange  house  pretends  to  be  almost  as  much  as  his  master. 
Treated  d la  KommisSy  after  the  barrack  regimen  at  home, 
he  impudently  demands  the  best  of  everything  when  stop- 
ping elsewhere,  and  generally  succeeds  in  obtaining  it,  as 
complaints  on  the  host’s  part  would  lay  him  open  to  suspi- 
cions of  nearness,  an  alternative  he  desires  to  avoid  by  all 
means. 

That  for  the  Emperor  himself  and  his  titled  entourage 
nothing  is  too  good  that  money  can  procure,  goes  without 
saying.  The  great  caterers  of  Berlin  and  Paris  send  their 
choicest  wares  beforehand,  all  the  delicacies  of  the  season, 
and  the  next  to  follow ; under  the  load  of  mighty  barrels 
branded  in  many  languages,  groan  the  ancient  cellar-beds 
of  oaken  beams,  and  mysterious  bottles  with  dirty  labels 
tell  of  old  vintages  and  lynx-eyed  connoisseurs,  while  the 
family  cook,  who  is  good  enough  all  the  year  round,  is  dis- 
lodged to  make  room  for  experts  in  every  known  branch  of 
culinary  art,  “lent”  by  the  great  hotels  and  world-famed 
restaurants  of  the  capital. 

And  what  says  William  to  this  splendid  hospitality,  this 
lavish,  almost  reckless,  expenditure  for  his  benefit  ? 

If  everything  go  off  according  to  programme,  if  game 
be  plentiful,  the  weather  fine,  his  bath  and  the  cooking 
better  than  at  his  own  house,  he  will  remark,  on  leaving : 
“Be  assured,  gnddige  FraUy'  or  (naming  the  host 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


225 


without  prefix  of  courtesy  or  title),  have  enjoyed  my- 
self exceedingly ; and  if*  one  thing  gave  me  more  pleasure 
than  the  other,  it  was  the  fact  that  you  made  no  fuss,  asked 
the  Kaiser  to  take  pot-luck  with  you,  so  to  speak.  That 
is  as  it  should  be.  Like  Eberhardt  im  Barte^  I desire  to 
be  free  to  visit  my  people  without  causing  them  the  least 
trouble  or  expense.” 

But  if  weather  or  wind,  the  elements  above  or  those 
below  (in  the  kitchen),  go  against  the  imperial  grain,  if  the 
populace’s  shouts  of  welcome  do  not  seem  hearty  or  loud 
enough,  or  if  one  of  the  other  guests  exhibits  greater  skill 
in  bringing  down  game  than  the  Emperor,  William  simply 
orders  his  carriage,  drives  back  to  the  house,  and  goes  to 
bed.  That  has  happened  in  the  course  of  years  once  or  twice 
at  each  of  the  baronial  seats  enumerated,  for,  if  one  may 
say  so  without  committing  crimen  lessee  Afajestatis,  there 
are  still  some  things  completely  oblivious  to  His  Majesty’s 
claims  of  omnipotence, — game  and  guns ; but  the  only  time 
one  of  these  accidents  provoked  grave  political  complica- 
tions was  in  October,  1894,  at  Liebenberg. 

In  the  midst  of  the  ministerial  crisis — involving  Chan- 
cellor Count  Caprivi  and  the  President  of  the  Prussian 
Ministry,  Count  Botho  Eulenburg — which  set  in  October 
19,  when  Eulenburg  had  advocated  a coup  d’elat  in  order 
to  railroad  through  an  arbitrary  anti-revolutionary  bill,  and 
while  everybody  in  the  palace  was  depressed  by  the  serious- 
ness of  the  situation  that  stood  out  in  black  contrast  to  the 
external  show  of  courtly  splendor, — the  festive  dedication 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  flags  on  October  18,  and 
the  reception  of  the  loyalists’  delegation  from  East  Prussia 
two  days  later, — in  the  midst  of  those  exciting  events.  Her 
Majesty  learned,  on  the  morning  of  October  23,  from  her 
Kammerdiener,  who  had  it  from  the  Kaiser’s  valet,  Herr 
Brachwitz,  that  the  Emperor  had  reconsidered  his  decision 


226 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


against  going  to  Liebenberg,  and  would  follow  Count 
Philli’s  invitation  at  once,  politics  or  no  politics. 

My  mistress  was  consulting  with  Countess  Brockdorff 
and  myself  whether  it  would  be  wise  for  her  to  go  to  the 
Emperor’s  study  and,  under  some  pretence  or  other,  find 
out  if  any  good  news  had  developed  over  night,  when  the 
Kaiser  rushed  in.  ‘‘I  am  off  for  Berlin,”  he  said,  ‘‘to 
have  a talk  with  Caprivi,  and  then  proceed  to  Liebenberg ; 
you  may  expect  me  back  late  Thursday  night.  ’ ’ 

“Will  Count  Botho  be  there  too?”  inquired  Auguste 
Victoria,  anxiously,  for  her  enthusiasm  for  Caprivi  had 
cooled  off,  and  she  would  have  been  glad  to  contribute  to 
his  downfall  if  daring  to  mix  in  such  matters  unasked. 

“No,  no,”  said  the  Emperor;  “ he  had  better  remain  in 
obscurity  for  the  present.  Letting  the  coup-d^  Hat  cat  out 
of  the  bag,  as  he  did,  was  almost  a crime  under  the  circum- 
stances.” 

The  results  of  the  impromptu  visit  to  Wilhelm  Strasse 
are  well  known ; the  Kaiser  took  sides  with  Caprivi  on  all 
points  in  dispute,  and  even  authorized  him  to  publish  the 
fact  in  the  semi-official  papers.  Then  he  went  straight- 
way to  Liebenberg,  Herr  von  Kiderlen-Wachter  contribut- 
ing to  the  enjoyment  of  the  trip  in  his  capacity  of  racon- 
teur. 

At  Philli’s  seat,  our  grand-master  told  me  afterward, 
His  Majesty  found  assembled  all  the  Eulenburgs  except 
one: — Philip,  the  Ambassador;  August,  the  Court-marshal; 
the  commander  of  the  Body  Uhlans,  and  Major  Count  Eulen- 
burg. 

The  supper  was  of  the  finest, — mets  favoris  galore,  roast 
turkey  and  German  cranberry  sauce,  saddle  of  roe,  stewed 
cherries  and  cucumber  salad,  courses  which  the  Emperor 
likes  to  eat  en  bloc ; that  is,  having  chopped  the  very  ten- 
der meat  with  his  knife- fork,  he  mixes  it  with  the  sweets, 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


227 


potatoes,  and  greens  into  a hotch-potch  and  swallows  with 
relish.  ‘‘For  dessert  we  had  biscuit  pudding  with  choco- 
late sauce;  is  there  anything  better  in  the  wide,  wide 
world?”  asked  Herr  Saltzmann,  the  artist  who  paints  the 
Kaiser’s  marine  views  and  belongs  to  his  round  table,  in 
speaking  of  the  Jagd-souper. 

And  the  entertainment  that  followed ! The  host  in  the 
weird  dress  of  a Northern  Skalde  singing  his  self-composed 
airs  that  gave  birth  to  the  misnamed  ^gir,  and  variegating 
the  performance  by  branching  off  into  French,  German, 
and  English  couplets ; Herr  von  Kiderlen-Wachter  as  pres- 
tidigitateury  with  blackened  face  and  hands,  swallow-tail 
coat,  and  horsy  pants,  doing  the  absent  Herr  von  Huelsen’s 
specialties. 

Saltzmann,  as  “lightning  portraitist,”  finally  pictured 
all  the  four  Eulenburgs,  enlarging  upon  their  virtues  and 
weaknesses,  and,  encouraged  by  William’s  applause,  topped 
off  the  series  by  “ Caprivi  in  distress.”  “But,”  shouted 
Herr  von  Kiderlen,  “ the  family  is  not  complete ; where  is 
His  Excellency  from  the  Linden  ? ” ^ 

And  the  Kaiser  nodding  assent,  the  artist  added  a clever 
caricature  of  the  well-known  cartoon;  ^^Bmnarck  Kojnmt''^ 
(Bismarck  is  coming),  exhibiting  the  hasty  evacuation  of 
the  Reichstag  at  the  entrance  of  Count  Botho  armed  with 
a mace,  emblem  of  imperial  authority. 

“Don’t  wipe  that  out!”  cried  the  Kaiser  when  Saltz- 
mann, after  the  manner  of  his  craft,  was  about  to  apply 
the  sponge;  “I  will  telegraph  Botho  to  attend  us  at  to- 
morrow’s battue,  and  in  the  evening  we  will, spring  this 
surprise  on  him  and  hear  what  he  has  to  say.” 


^ No.  73  Unter  den  Linden,  the  palace  of  the  Minister  of  the  Inte- 
rior ; Eulenburg  was  at  the  time  both  Prime  Minister  and  Minister  of 
the  Interior. 


228 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


Half  an  hour  later  a mounted  chasseur  was  galloping  in 
the  direction  of  Zehdenick  to  deposit  not  only  the  Kaiser’s 
despatch,  but  divers  messages  of  the  other  four  Eulenburgs, 
at  the  telegraph  office. 

As  characteristic  of  the  tone  that  prevailed  at  the  supper- 
table,  one  of  the  participants  recalls  some  remarks  of  the 
Kaiser.  Observing  the  elaborate  menu,  William  shook  his 
finger  at  Count  Philli,  and  said;  ‘‘This  is  far  above  the 
ten-mark  limit,  my  good  fellow;”  and  when  pudding  was 
served,  he  remarked:  ‘‘Now  I will  bet  you  are  after  some 
favor;  otherwise,  why  this  embarras  of  Leibgerichte ? " 
(favorite  dishes). 

Count  Botho  came,  saw,  and — was  told  to  “get  out  of 
His  Majesty’s  way.”  The  chase  had  been  “amateurishly 
arranged;”  there  was  “no  discipline  in  those  confounded 
beaters,”  and  “ one  could  have  better  sport  walking  through 
the  park  of  Sans  Souci  than  on  such  preserves;  ” these  and 
similar  remarks  greeted  the  new-comer,  while  the  host  and 
his  friends  wished  themselves  miles  away. 

There  was,  I am  told  by  one  of  the  witnesses,  some  truth 
in  the  Kaiser’s  criticisms;  the  two  gun-chargers  standing 
behind  him  often  remained  idle  for  three  or  four  minutes 
in  succession — think  of  it ! — and  the  game  was  at  no  time 
during  the  chase  thick  enough  to  admit  of  a wholesale  mas- 
sacre, such  as  William  delights  in.  So,  when  after  three 
hours  it  was  reported  that  he  had  killed  only  one  hundred 
and  one  hares,  he  sent  for  his  carriage  and  without  further 
ado  drove  back  to  Liebenberg,  there  to  seek  the  seclusion 
of  his  chamber,  from  which  he  did  not  emerge  until  next 
morning.  The  feelings  of  Count  Philli  and  his  cousin 
Botho,  suddenly  disillusioned,  may  be  better  imagined  than 
defined.  To  Her  Majesty  our  grand-master  said  after- 
ward : “That  lonely  supper  on  Wednesday  evening  I shall 
never  forget.  Compared  with  it  a funeral  would  be  gay. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


229 


We  were  all  in  a melting  mood,  and  had  not  the  heart  to 
touch  champagne.” 

Next  morning  the  Kaiser  held  half  an  hour’s  private 
conversation  with  Count  Botho  about  certain  newspaper  at- 
tacks upon  the  Prussian  Premier  which,  the  latter  claimed, 
were  inspired  by  Caprivi,  but,  though  sympathizing  with 
the  petitioner,  the  Emperor  refused  to  take  up  cudgels  on 
his  behalf.  To  our  Court-marshal  he  said:  I should  be 
sorry  to  lose  your  brother ; I will  try  to  keep  him,  but,  you 
must  admit,  this  time  Caprivi  has  completely  outgeneralled 
His  Excellency.” 

That  was  Thursday  afternoon.  On  Friday  afternoon, 
both  the  Chancellor  and  the  President  of  the  Prussian  Min- 
istry resigned : Eulenburg  had  been  weighed  and  found 
short  three  or  four  hundred  skins.  If  William  had  shot 
five  hundred  head  of  hare,  instead  of  one  hundred  and 
one,  Count  Botho  would  probably  have  returned  from 
Liebenberg  with  the  patent  of  Emperor’s  lieutenant  of 
Alsace  in  his  pocket.  Such  was  the  impression  at  Court,  at 
least.  As  it  happened,  the  cousin  of  the  Liebenberger  was 
forced  to  re-enter  private  life,  though  still  in  his  best  years, 
and  hardly  rich  enough  to  retire. 

When  all  was  over,  and  the  Prince  of  Hohenlohe-Lan- 
genburg,  related  by  marriage  to  both  their  Majesties  (he 
is  the  husband  of  William’s  second  cousin,  Leopoldine  of 
Baden,  and  a brother  of  Her  Majesty’s  mother),  had  taken 
Uncle  Chlodwig’s  place  in  the  imperial  palace  at  Strass- 
burg,  I heard  the  Kaiser  say  to  his  wife  one  November 
evening,  after  a discussion  of  the  new  brooms  in  Russia” 
(Nicholas  II  had  ascended  the  throne  a few  days  before) : 

think  I will  adhere,  for  the  future,  to  that  policy  of 
our  Muscovite  brethren, — placing  relatives  in  commanding 
positions.  Langenburg,  if  he  half  understands  his  business, 
can  have  the  Statthalterschaft  until  our  boys  grow  up,  and 


230 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


then  each  of  them  may  take  a turn  at  it.  It  is  one  of  the 
few  paying  offices  within  my  gift,  and  I am  now  glad  I did 
not  allow  the  Eulenburgs  to  persuade  me  to  give  it  to  one 
of  their  crew”  (^^habe  mich  nicht  breitschlagen  lassen^'). 
‘‘  Botho  is  not  rich  enough,  not  big  enough,  and  there  would 
have  been  no  end  of  a howl  about  the  Prussian  Junker, 
anyhow.” 

‘^Moderation,  the  virtue  of  which  Princes  stand  in  such 
urgent  need,  is  never  found  in  passionate  hunters,  who 
experience  an  irresistible  impulse  to  pursue  the  game  and 
a cruel  and  bloody  delight  in  killing.”  This  passage  in 
Her  Majesty’s  copy  of  Frederick  the  Great’s  “Antimac- 
chiavell,  ’ ’ ^ which  the  young  Princes  are  allowed  to  handle 
freely,  is  hidden,  the  margin  of  the  page  containing  it 
being  pasted  to  the  next,  as  if  by  accident.  The  boys 
shall  not  learn  of  the  judgment  passed  by  an  ancestor 
on  this  father’s  terrible  frenzy  for  blood;  but  this  ostrich 
policy,  justified  in  the  children’s  case,  cannot  obscure  the 
fact  that  the  Kaiser  grows  fonder  of  the  gory  spectacles  to 
which  imperial  hunts  have  degenerated  from  year  to  year. 

A shortage  of  a couple  of  hundred  hare  cost  Count 
Botho  the  proudest  office  under  the  Crown ; a single  buck 
came  near  depriving  the  nation  of  the  services  of  one  of 
the  ablest  officers  in  the  army ; for  the  sake  of  a few  tough 
rabbits  the  Kaiser  insulted  a venerable  adjutant-general  of 
his  grandfather  in  a manner  that  would  have  resulted  in  a 
challenge  if  rank  did  not  make  a crowned  poltroon  invio- 
lable. 

And  not  satisfied  with  indulging  his  passion  in  the  field, 
the  Kaiser  must  needs  surround  himself  at  all  times  with 


^ Her  Majesty’s  private  library  consists  of  the  works  of  Frederick 
the  Great,  those  of  Moltke,  in  German  and  English,  a Bible,  and  a few 
pious  books. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


231 


trophies  of  his  skill  as  a death-giver;  the  most  prominent 
object  in  his  study  is  a long  table,  covered  with  green 
cloth,  containing  the  antlers  of  the  roebucks  killed  by 
him  in  the  course  of  the  year,  while  under  the  table,  and 
all  around  on  the  floor,  are  the  bigger  antlers  of  slain  deer. 
Ministers  of  State  delivering  reports  upon  the  reception  of 
which  hinges  the  fate  of  government  measures,  of  peace  or 
war,  or,  perchance,  the  life  of  some  doomed  man  appealing 
to  the  King’s  grace,  must  be  forever  prepared  to  be  inter- 
rupted by  a ^‘Look  at  this  ten”  (or  fourteen)  ^ender’  ” 
(meaning  antlers  with  the  given  number  of  branches), — 
‘Uhe  prime  stag  among  a battalion  I mowed  down  at 
Rominton.” 

Gun-charger  Rieger  has  the  care  of  these  trophies,  and 
has  little  time  for  anything  else.  At  great  dinners,  when  he 
stands  behind  His  Majesty’s  chair,  this  man  is  often  con- 
sulted about  dates  and  incidents  as  William  tells  visiting 
sovereigns  of  his  achievements  with  the  rifle. 

As  mentioned,  the  Kaiser’s  correspondence  with  his  wife 
during  his  frequent  absences  from  home  consists  mainly  of 
telegraphic  reports  of  the  number  of  game  killed.  Her 
Majesty’s  ladies,  therefore,  take  little  interest  in  these  mes- 
sages, though  etiquette  and  policy  compel  us  to  feign 
enthusiasm;  but  in  May,  1895,  when  the  Kaiser  was  at 
Proeckelvvitz,  there  arrived  a telegram  that  caused  the  live- 
liest concern,  not  to  say  excitement,  among  all  members  of 
the  entourage.  Just  shot  a buck  which  Kessel  shot  past. 
Wilhelm.”  ^^Gerade  einen  Bock  geschossen  den  Kessel 
vorbeigeschossen  hat.  Wilhelm y ’ ’ read  the  badly-constructed 
despatch,  which  reached  the  palace  late  at  night,  and  which 
the  Empress  exhibited  at  second  breakfast.  Auguste  Vic- 
toria laughed  and  joked  about  it ; but  the  rest  of  us  saw 
in  the  triumphant  tone  of  the  missive  only  the  disturbing 
evidence  of  a wrangle  between  two  friends,  the  Kaiser  and 


232 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


his  efficient  adjutant-general,  who,  by  the  way,  is  a man 
of  sense,  exercising  the  best  influence  over  his  erratic 
master. 

A few  days  later  this  story  was  whispered  in  all  the  ante- 
chambers : 

At  Proeckelwitz  roe  is  not  so  plentiful  as  to  admit  of 
battues ; bucks  must  be  stalked,  and  it  is  the  Emperor’s 
boast  that  no  one  but  himself  ever  brought  down  a re- 
spectable head  of  game  in  that  neighborhood, — a fact  not 
to  be  wondered  at  considering  the  standing  imperial  in- 
junction against  poaching  when  he  is  around.  Now  it  hap- 
pens that  Count  Dohna  and  General  von  Kessel  are  good 
friends.  So,  when  the  hunting-party  arrived.  His  Lordship 
took  the  adjutant  aside,  and  said:  *•  Don’t  breathe  a word 
of  this.  I have  ordered  a buck  for  you  at  my  neighbors 
west  of  the  Proeckelwitz  grounds.  Be  ready  to-morrow 
night  at  ten.  My  valet  will  drive  you  to  the  spot  where 
you  must  lay  in  ambush.  The  stalking  will  be  done  by 
my  friend’s  chasseur.’  ” 

This  plan  was  carried  out  in  every  respect  with  the 
utmost  secrecy,  but,  owing  to  some  pick-thank,  the  sover- 
eign got  wind  of  the  arrangement,  and  the  moment  von 
Kessel  cocked  his  gun  he  heard  a derisive  laugh  at  the 
back  of  him.  Of  course,  the  shot  failed,  and  the  Emperor, 
emerging  from  a thicket  with  Herr  Rieger,  cried:  ^Hvenak, 
that  was  a prime  shot  you  made.  Just  go  home  and  tele- 
graph to  my  wife  that  you  shot  a buck  in — your  mind.  ’ ’ 

Von  Kessel  was  white  with  rage,  as  any  disappointed 
sportsman  might  be.  '^Your  Majesty,”  he  roared,  ‘*1  am 
not  going  to  do  anything  of  the  kind.” 

The  Kaiser,  I am  told  by  one  of  the  ladies  of  the  Dohna 
family,  who  received  her  information  from  the  General’s 
Jager,  bit  his  lip,  and,  drawing  himself  up,  said:  ^^And  if 
I command  you  to  do  so?” 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


233 


^^Then  I must  beg  to  be  excused  from  any  further 
obligation  to  be  at  Your  Majesty’s  orders.” 

After  this  rebuff,  William  withdrew,  without  further 
words,  and  after  another  hour’s  hunting  succeeded  in 
shooting  a roe.  At  supper  he  appeared  in  joyous  mood  as 
if  nothing  had  happened,  thus  putting  Herr  von  Kessel 
and  Count  Dohna  at  ease.  will  have  to  trouble  you 
for  a piece  of  paper  and  a pencil,”  he  said  to  the  host  as 
he  sat  down.  Writing-material  was  brought  in,  and  he 
scribbled  a few  words,  then  handed  the  message  around 
the  table.  It  was  the  telegram  above  quoted.  ^^What 
do  you  say  to  this,  Ivenak?”  laughed  the  Kaiser.  Kessel, 
v/ho  had  previously  informed  Count  Dohna  of  his  inten- 
tion to  formally  resign  from  the  service,  was  disarmed  by 
the  childish  display;  his  indignation  evaporated,  and  he 
answered:  “A  good  fish  story,  that  Her  Majesty  will  doubt- 
less enjoy.” 

‘‘Ah,  come  off,  Kessel” (in  the  desire  to  smooth  over 
the  controversy  of  the  forest  the  Kaiser  had  found  his  ban- 
tering tone  again):  “you  know  very  well  that  your  buck 
ran  into  Proeckelwitz  grounds,  where  my  unerring  rifle 
brought  him  down.” 

In  this  case  the  breach  in  a friendship  of  long  standing 
was  allowed  to  heal ; but  a similar  incident  cost  William 
the  affection  and  esteem  of  one  of  the  royal  family’s  stoutest 
supporters.  Count  Lehndorff,  sometime  the  favorite  adju- 
tant-general of  the  old  Emperor. 

Out  of  compliment  to  His  Majesty,  who  regards  every- 
body who  has  enjoyed  his  grandsire’s  friendship  with  a sort 
of  veneration,  the  old  General  had  been  placed  next  to  the 
Kaiser  at  a chase  in  Neugattersleben,  held  in  December, 
1895.  As  on  that  eventful  occasion  in  Liebenberg,  a year 
before,  the  hare  did  not  rush  to  the  slaughter  as  fast  as 
William  liked,  and  at  the  Ha-la-lit  “only”  two  hundred 


234 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


and  ten  leapers  were  placed  to  his  credit.  His  neighbor, 
Count  Lehndortf,  brought  down  forty. 

“Two  hundred  and  ten  plus  forty  makes  a round  quarter 
of  a thousand, — a royal  number  for  a bad  day,”  exclaimed 
William,  who  was  in  great  ill-humor.  “ Confound  the  impu- 
dence of  the  fellow  who  shoots  game  coming  within  range 
of  my  rifle  and  which  properly  belongs  to  me.” 

At  this  unheard-of  insult,  Lehndorff’s  right  hand  instinct- 
ively seized  his  couteau  de  chasse,  but  his  temper  got  the 
better  of  him  for  a single  moment  only.  “The  fellow 
who  handed  William  I the  diploma  that  made  him  German 
Emperor^  may  well  consider  himself  above  the  charge  of 
impudence,”  he  said,  in  his  simple  and  impressive  style. 
And  turning  to  his  friends,  continued : “I  will  not  quarrel 
with  the  grandson  of  the  King  whom  I attended  in  three 
victorious  wars  and  at  whose  side  I courted  death  at  K6- 
nigsgratz  when  all  seemed  lost.” 

A stiif  bow,  a few  words  of  excuse  to  Herr  von  Alvens- 
leben,  and  the  old  General  got  into  his  trap.  He  has 
ever  since  avoided  William’s  company  “as  that  of  a 
madman’s.” 

While  the  members  of  His  Majesty’s  staff  assert  that  the 
monarch  is  never  in  better  humor  than  after  successfully 
playing  some  trick  upon  a friend,  it  shall  not  be  denied 
that  he  is  very  agreeable  company  if  he  has  half  a mind  to 
be.  He  loves  a merry  jest  at  a stag  party,  knows  the  art  of 
making  pleasant  conversation,  sings,  badly,  it  is  true,  but 
nevertheless  entertainingly  enough  among  friends ; enjoys 
good  music,  and  is  a clever  hand  at  any  game, — billiards, 
skat,  poker,  and  what-not  ? and,  better  still,  he  never  allows 


1 At  Versailles,  December  1 8,  1870,  when  LehndorfF  handed  King 
William  the  petition  of  the  Reichstag  of  the  North  German  Federation, 
asking  him  to  assume  the  imperial  crown. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


235 


the  stakes  to  go  above  a pfennig  (a  quarter  of  a cent)  a 
point.  If  Diana  has  smiled  upon  him,  and  the  host  showed 
a lucky  hand  in  the  selection  of  the  menu,  he  usually  orders 
his  portfolio  of  photographs  to  be  brought  in  after  dinner, 
and,  leaving  everybody  a choice  of  pictures,  inscribes  his 
name,  together  with  the  date,  and  often  some  cheerful  words 
of  remembrance,  on  a dozen  or  half  a hundred  pasteboards, 
as  the  case  might  be. 

In  such  jovial  fashion  the  royal  hunt  at  Amtsrath  von 
Dietze’s  seat,  Barby,  winds  up  year  after  year,  for  the 
arrangements  there  are  invariably  the  most  satisfactory, 
both  nature  and  the  kitchen  offering  ample  plenitude  of 
good  things.  It  is  at  Barby  manor-house,  too,  where  Wil- 
liam habitually  makes  his  speech  about  pot-luck  and  the 
late  Eberhardt  im  Barte^  whom  he  is  trying  hard  to  emu- 
late ; but,  seeing  that  the  tax  commissioners  have  raised  the 
Amtsrath  twenty-five  per  cent,  since  he  began  to  enter- 
tain the  Kaiser,  William’s  reassuring  words  must  be  rather 
galling.  However  that  may  be,  the  old  councillor  can 
hardly  do  enough  for  his  august  guest,  even  though  his 
wife,  the  prototype  of  a saving  Hausfrau^  sometimes  flatly 
refuses  to  let  things  go  to  extremes.  So  it  happened  in 
December,  1896,  that  she  took  a bottle  of  wine,  from 
which  her  husband  was  about  to  serve  the  Kaiser,  out  of 
the  Amtsrath’s  hand,  with  the  words : “Nay,  nay,  hubby, 
not  from  the  best  just  yet.”  The  dignified  old  squire 
looked  ready  to  die  of  mortification,  but  his  fat  little 
spouse  continued  undisturbed  : “You  know  at  the  Schloss 
we  had  German  champagne  with  our  soup ; the  expensive 
French  vintage  was  saved  until  dessert.” 

The  piece  de  resistance  at  every  Barby  hunt  dinner  is  a 
roast  turkey.  “If  at  any  time  His  Majesty  should  return 
with  his  game-bag  completely  empty,  I wager  I would  lure 
him  from  his  room  with  one  word:  ^Puterbratenp  says 


236 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


Madame  von  Dietze ; and  that  is  no  idle  boast,  for  William 
is  extremely  fond  of  the  Yankee  bird,  as  he  calls  it,  and 
the  Barby  brand  is  supposed  to  be  the  finest  on  record. 

“Egloffstein,”  cried  the  Kaiser,  addressing  his  House- 
marshal  at  the  other  end  of  the  table  some  little  while  after 
the  bottle  incident,  in  an  endeavor  to  put  the  Amtsrath  at 
his  ease  again, — ^‘why  in  thunder,  Egloffstein,  can’t  I get 
a turkey  like  this  at  my  own  house  ? ’ ’ 

“Because,”  said  the  courtier,  rising  and  bowing  to 
Madame  von  Dietze,  sitting  on  the  Kaiser’s  right,  “Your 
Majesty’s  turkeys  do  not  have  the  care  those  of  the  Frau 
Amtsrathin  enjoy.” 

“Well  spoken,”  remarked  Herr  von  Kessel,  assuming 
the  voice  and  gestures  of  an  auctioneer;  “this  Truthahn^ 
for  instance,  went  to  bed  with  madame  every  night  for  the 
last  month  or  so,  and ” 

“Fibs!”  interrupted  the  Emperor,  “it  can’t  be  true. 
Otherwise,  who  might  be  your  fat  friend  on  this  silver 
platter  ? ’ ’ 

“Let  me  finish.  Your  Majesty!  I meant  to  add:  ^ and 
in  the  morning  was  regaled  with  the  most  fulsome  breakfast 
of  maize  and  barley.''  ” 

All  laughed,  and  the  Kaiser  said : “ But  inasmuch  as  I 
cannot  ask  gnddige  Frau  to  sleep  in  my  hennery,  the  ques- 
tion that  gave  rise  to  our  discussion  remains  unsolved.” 

“Then  let  me  send  a first-rate  New  Year’s  turkey  to  the 
Schloss,”  pleaded  the  host. 

The  offer  was  gladly  accepted,  and  on  his  return  home 
His  Majesty,  from  whom  I have  the  minutes  of  the  conver- 
sation quoted,  promised  us  a regular  feast  for  some  evening 
after  the  holidays. 

At  last  the  much-talked-about  Truthahn  was  served  with 
becoming  state  and  many  appetizing  accessories,  but,  alas  1 
failed  to  conquer.  Though  not  quite  as  dry  as  the  average 


WILLIAM  11  AND  HIS  CONSORT  237 

bird  of  his  family  eaten  at  the  Prussian  Court,  the  dish 
disappointed  even  those  of  us  who  habitually  take  the  Em- 
peror’s laudations  with  a grain  of  salt  or  two.  William  was 
furious.  Turning  to  Rieger,  he  ordered  him  to  proceed  to 
the  kitchen  and  inform  the  mouth-cook  ‘*of  His  Majesty’s 
all-highest  displeasure  and  disappointment,  and,”  he  cried 
after  the  man,  ‘Hell  him  also  that  on  my  travels  I’ve  en- 
countered the  best  meals  in  houses  where  they  employ 
women  cooks.  If  he  fails  with  one  of  my  favorite  dishes 
again,  there  will  be  an  upheaval  in  the  lower  regions  of 
this  palace  and  we  may  try  a regime  of  aprons  instead  of 
caps.  ’ ’ 

The  same  night  House-marshal  von  Lyncker,  who  is  an 
adept  in  the  art  of  currying  favor,  wrote  to  Amtsrath’s  ex- 
plaining the  non-success  of  the  experiment,  and  Madame 
von  Dietze,  taking  pity  on  William,  not  only  promised  to 
rehabilitate  the  Barby  bird,  but  see  to  it  that  the  next  one 
was  properly  cooked.  So  the  good  woman  set  to  work  and 
stuffed  the  pride  of  her  barn-yard  for  many  weeks  with  the 
finest  cereals  and  boiled  chicken,  and  when  he  had  in- 
creased ten  pounds,  sent  him  to  Berlin,  together  with  her 
own  female  Reyniere.  Kaiser  and  Kaiserin,  the  children, 
and  the  entire  Court  visited  the  proud  turkey  in  his  coop 
while  the  petticoated  chef  explained  his  good  points  with 
many  courtesies.  But  the  proof  of  the  pudding  is  in  the 
eating,  and  “courtiers  live  to  eat.”  What  a meal  it  was, 
and  how  gracious  His  Majesty  after  the  first  bite  ! Last 
February,^  Eugene  Richter  made  his  great  speech  against 
William’s  hunting  companions,  who,  he  thundered,  manip- 
ulate the  Kaiser  at  will.  “ My  African  Empire  for  a lettre 
de  cachet  that  will  send  this  rabulist  to  Spandau!  Would 
I not  gladly  forget  all  about  him  there  ! ’ ’ exclaimed  His 


^ February  12,  1895,  in  the  Reichstag. 


238 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


Majesty  when  the  tirade  became  known.  These  followers 
of  Diana  certainly  have  some  little  influence  with  the  Em- 
peror, but  to  obtain  the  sway  Herr  Richter  imputes  to  them, 
they  would  have  to  go  to  school  with  Anna,  the  Barby 
cook.  She  was  the  queen-bee  of  the  Schloss  for  many 
days,  and,  if  fate  had  made  her  a lady,  instead  of  a poor 
country-wench,  she  might  have  obtained  the  first  place  in 
the  royal  tnenage  for  the  asking,  with  the  proviso,  however, 
that  she  devote  herself  to  turkey-cooking  during  the  season. 

Whenever  the  Court-marshal  catches  a new  bird  ^ eager 
to  place  his  game  at  William’s  disposal,  he  is  careful  to  in- 
form the  noble  gentleman  that  the  regulation  hunt  dinner 
should  consist  of  at  least  six  courses  j but  when  the  Kaiser 
assembles  his  generous  friends  at  his  own  fireside,  at  the 
Chalet  Lindstedt,  in  the  Potsdam  district,  for  instance,  at 
Hubertusstock  or  Letzlingen,  moderation  and  simplicity 
are  trumps,  dinners  being  tabooed,  and  only  breakfast,  late 
luncheon,  and  suppers  are  offered,  where  cutlets  and  beef- 
steak take  the  place  of  roast,  and  fried  apples  form  the 
dessert,  with  beer  or  light  wines  as  a beverage,  and  punch 
as  a substitute  for  champagne.  So  the  imperial  guests 
usually  make  for  the  nearest  restaurant  as  soon  as  they 
return  to  town.  ^‘They  come  from  dinner  at  Court,” 
say  the  citizens  who  recognize  the  royal  hunt  uniform; 

no  wonder  they  are  famished.  Prussian  provisioning 
makes  lean  horses.” 

Aside  from  his  hunting  companions.  His  Majesty  has 
few  friends  and  no  intimates.  Though  Herr  von  Helldorff, 
Baron  Manteuffel,  and  Count  Douglas  are  sometimes  so 


^“Another  bird  caught,”  wrote  Frederick  William  I in  his  diary 
when  he  succeeded  in  selling  one  of  his  Prussian  orders  to  some  am- 
bitious simpleton,  and  to  this  day  the  phrase  is  much  en  vogue  at  the 
Berlin  Court, 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


239 


designated,  there  is  nothing  in  their  relations  to  His  Majesty 
to  justify  the  assumption.  At  the  palace  the  triumvirate 
is  called  “the  Kaiser’s  most  submissive  political  General 
Staff,”  because  William  uses  these  gentlemen  as  cat’s- 
paws  sometimes,  as  clubs  on  other  occasions,  when  the 
conservatives  cannot  be  brought  to  book  in  any  legiti- 
mate way.  They  breakfast  or  dine  at  Court  quite  fre- 
quently, and  are  favorably  regarded  by  the  Empress,  but 
on  the  whole  their  reception,  while  never  lacking  in  cor- 
diality, is  official  in  character.  Conforming  to  Chester- 
field’s advice,  these  gentlemen  “made  themselves  neces- 
sary,” but  the  Kaiser  is  not  always  eager  to  do  business, 
as  the  record  of  his  occupations  mentioned  in  another 
chapter  shows.  Herr  von  Helldorff,  besides,  has  some- 
what lost  caste  since  His  Majesty  adopted  his  vacillating 
policy  in  respect  to  Bismarck.  During  the  first  three 
months  of  the  year  1890,  while  the  old  Chancellor  was 
kept  away  from  Berlin  through  all  sorts  of  machinations 
that  made  it  patent  to  everybody  at  Court  that  he  was 
about  to  be  shelved  (his  son  Herbert  was  the  only  one  who 
failed  to  understand  the  situation), — while  these  intrigues 
were  being  spun,  Herr  von  Helldorff  was  a daily  visitor  at 
the  palace,  and,  to  judge  from  remarks  the  Empress  let 
fall  in  our  circle  off  and  on,  he  played  a decisive  part  in 
the  conspiracy  that  discrowned  the  great  man.  Whether 
he  informed  the  Emperor  that  Bismarck  had  become  a 
morphine  fiend  and  was  unable  to  think  connectedly,  I 
cannot  tell,  but  His  Majesty  mentioned  the  rumor  at 
luncheon  one  day  after  having  been  closeted  with  both 
the  agrarian  chieftain  and  Dr.  Hinzpeter  the  whole  morn- 
ing. The  Kaiser’s  old  preceptor  Hinzpeter,  by  the  way, 
was  never  so  prominent  at  Court  as  when  Bismarck’s  star 
was  on  the  wane.  We  saw  him  flit  in  and  out  of  the 
Kaiser’s  study  at  all  times  of  the  day  and  in  the  evening, 


240 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


and  quite  often  he  installed  himself  in  His  Majesty’s  apart- 
ments as  early  as  eight  o’clock  in  the  morning,  even  be- 
fore William  had  breakfasted.  But  this  friendship  was  too 
thick  to  last,  the  more  so  as  Dr.  Hinzpeter  himself  placed 
a stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  his  ambition  to  live  at 
Court  by  his  marriage  to  Mademoiselle  d’Harcourt  ex- 
governess to  the  Emperor’s  sisters.  So  Hinzpeter  was 
packed  off  to  Bielefeld,  and  the  castle  and  Neues  Palais 
knew  him  no  more. 

Until  the  spring  of  1892,  Judicial  Councillor  Kunze  was 
another  of  the  Kaiser’s  untitled  friends,  and  he  had,  per- 
haps, more  influence  over  William  than  all  the  rest,  seeing 
that  he  aspired  to  become  His  Majesty’s  Hofjude^  or  finan- 
cial agent.  Kunze  manipulated  the  ruinous  Schloss  Freiheit 
Lottery,  mentioned  in  the  eighth  chapter,  and  was  at  the 
bottom  of  the  colossal  building  projects,  having  a game  of 
some  sort  in  petto  to  meet  each  proposed  extravagance. 
However,  as  soon  as  these  schemes  threatened  to  com- 
promise the  Kaiser,  their  plebeian  advocate  was  dropped 
as  a “designing  and  even  dangerous  person,”  and  since 
then  I have  seen  William  pass  his  old-time  friend,  who  was 
half  doubled  up  by  the  most  submissive  of  bows,  without 
taking  the  slightest  notice  of  'him.  That  does  not  signify, 
however,  that  Kunze  is  lastingly  disgraced.  On  the  con- 
trary, if  the  “difficulties  of  the  exchequer”  continue,  he  is 
almost  sure  to  be  restored. 

Among  men  of  his  own  caste  and  age,  William  has  had 
but  one  intimate,  the  late  Rudolph  of  Austria;  but  the 
pleasant  relations  between  these  young  men,  based  upon 
mutual  likes  and  dislikes,  came  to  an  abrupt  end  some 
four  years  previous  to  the  Archduke’s  awful  death,  discord 
arising  in  the  summer  of  1885  when  Prince  and  Princess 
William  were  spending  several  weeks  at  their  Imperial 
Highnesses’  country -place  near  Vienna.  From  this  outing 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


241 


the  Princess  returned  all  of  a sudden  and  post-haste  to 
Potsdam,  while  her  husband  went  on  an  impromptu  tour 
of  military  inspections  in  the  provinces. 

And  the  reason  ? 

Princess  Philip  of  Coburg,  sister  of  the  Archduchess 
Stephanie,  told  me  that  William,  returning  in  her  brother- 
in-law’s  company  from  a stag  party  late  one  evening,  pro- 
posed the  game  of  changer  les  damesy  which.  Her  Royal 
Highness  insists,  is  quite  common”  among  German  offi- 
cers. Rudolph  is  said  to  have  been  agreeable,  but  when 
William  entered  the  Crown  Princess  Stephanie’s  room. 
Her  Imperial  Highness  made  a tremendous  uproar,  caus- 
ing Auguste  Victoria  to  awake,  and”  (I  am  still  quoting 
Princess  Philip),  thus  the  pretty  scheme  was  spoiled.” 

Next  morning  the  young  wives  got  together ; but  as  each 
charged  the  other’s  husband  with  instigating  the  devil- 
ish plot,  the  happy  family  party  was  bound  to  break  up, 
and  their  Highnesses  separated  without  saying  good-bye. 
Such,  at  least,  was  common  report  at  the  Court  of  Empress 
Augusta  in  Coblentz,  where  I happened  to  be  at  the  time. 

As  for  the  rest,  it  will  probably  never  be  known  which 
of  the  royal  gentlemen  incited  the  other  to  the  act ; maybe 
both  were  drunk,  and  agreed  upon  the  dictum  of  Prussian 
army  men:  ^^Unter  Kameraden  isf  s ganz  egaV^  (literally: 

Among  comrades  it’s  the  same  thing”)  as  a good  joke. 


CHAPTER  XI 


Toward  the  end  of  January,  1894,  when  the  Kaiser  was 
about  to  complete  his  reconciliation  with  Prince  Bismarck 
first  entered  upon  by  the  historic  telegram  from  Guns, 
which  Emperor  Francis  Joseph  had  inspired,^  he  informed 
the  Court  at  supper  one  evening  that  the  Duke  of  Lauen- 
burg,  who  had  been  suffering  from  influenza^  was  doing 
well  again.  ‘‘  I will  send  Kiderlen  to  Friedrichsruhe  to- 
morrow to  convey  my  congratulations,  together  with  the 
customary  bottle  of  Steinberg  Cabinet,”  he  added. 

“For  God’s  sake,”  cried  Duke  Johann  Albrecht  of 
Mecklenburg,  one  of  the  guests,  “rather  send  a chasseur 
than  Kiderlen  ! He ’ ’ 

“And  what  is  Your  Highness’s  objection  to  Kiderlen, 
pray?”  asked  the  Kaiser,  dropping  the  familiar  thou. 
From  his  tone  and  manner  it  was  clear  that  he  did  not 
like  this  particular  friend  criticised. 

My  objection?”  resumed  Duke  Johann.  “/  have 
nothing  against  your  Councillor  of  Legation,  but  during 
my  late  visit  to  the  old  Chancellor  a rumor  concerning 
Your  Majesty’s  intention  to  make  Kiderlen  Minister  to 
Hamburg  was  mentioned,  and  the  Prince  being  asked  if  he 


^ In  the  fall  of  1893,  Bismarck  was  dangerously  ill  with  inflammation  of 
the  lungs  and  ischia,  in  Kissingen,  and  on  September  20  the  Kaiser,  by 
telegram,  assured  him  of  his  sympathy,  at  the  same  time  offering  him 
the  use  of  one  of  his  castles  for  convalescence. 


243 


244 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


knew  the  gentleman,  said:  ^Yes,  devilish  good  company 
at  a stag  party.  After  dinner,  when  we  join  the  ladies, 
out  with  him’  ” {lieraiisschmeissen). 

A titter  went  around  the  table,  but  His  Majesty’s  glum 
face  suppressed  our  incipient  hilarity. 

‘^Much  obliged  for  the  information,”  he  frowned; 
‘‘but  understand,  I will  not  be  dictated  to  in  the  selec- 
tion of  either  a minister  or  a messenger.  ’ ’ Next  morning 
the  Kaiser  sent  straightway  for  Kiderlen;  but  the  latter, 
to  whom  the  conversation  had  been  reported  by  the 
House-marshal  on  duty,  and  who  did  not  care  to  be 
snubbed  by  Bismarck  on  the  eve  of  his  elevation,  excused 
himself  on  the  plea  of  sickness,  adhering  to  that  story 
for  three  days  in  succession,  until  the  Kaiser,  losing 
patience,  sent  his  adjutant.  Count  Moltke,  instead  of  the 
Councillor. 

Opinion  at  Court  and  among  serious  men  generally 
fully  endorsed  Bismarck’s  drastic  characterization  of  the 
then  chief  of  the  official  press,  afterward  Minister  to 
Hamburg,  and  still  later  to  Denmark,  and  there  are  even 
many  who  think  it  applies  to  all  the  rest  of  His  Majesty’s 
intimates,  the  Eulenburgs,  Herr  von  Huelsen,  and  the 
cloud  of  military  chums,  his  adjutants,  etc. 

“It  is  a pity,”  said  the  Empress  Frederick  after  Count 
Waldersee’s  retirement  from  Berlin  (January,  1891),  “that 
my  son  will  have  none  but  lightweights  about  him;  all 
men  of  acumen  are  pushed  aside.  Still,  I suppose  I must 
not  grumble  so  long  as  Count  Herbert  is  kept  out.”  Her 
Majesty,  you  must  know,  regards  Herbert  Bismarck  as  the 
man  who  instilled  in  the  Emperor  the  liking  for  persons  of 
his — Herbert’s — stamp, — flatterers,  shallow  and  insolent, 
defamers  of  womankind,  tap-house  jesters  and  buffoons. 
“Scratch  either  of  the  Kiderlen-Eulenburg-Huelsen  crew 
and  the  pickle-herring  will  appear,”  she  is  wont  to  say, 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


245 


and  years  ago  nothing  gave  her  greater  satisfaction  than 
the  termination  of  Prince  William’s  friendship  with  the 
Austrian  Crown  Prince,  whom  she  abhorred  as  any  pure 
woman  might  abhor  a heartless  roue. 

After  a quarrel  with  William,  the  Princess  of  Meiningen 
once  called  her  big  brother  ‘‘the  great  charlatan,”  and 
his  cronies  the  “little  ones  whom  he  continuously  out- 
tricks,”  referring  to  the  fact  that  the  Kaiser  refused  loans 
to  more  than  one  of  his  intimates  time  and  again.  But 
while  it  is  true  that  he  is  personally  very  close-fisted,  he 
makes  the  government  pay  his  debts  of  gratitude  when- 
ever an  opportunity  offers.  So  he  found  Herr  von  Kider- 
len  a supernumerary  Councillor  of  Legation,  with  little  to 
recommend  him  besides  his  close  knowledge  of  dispar- 
aging personalities  respecting  colleagues  and  chiefs,  high 
officials  in  Berlin,  and  diplomats  in  all  parts  of  the 
world.  “If  my  Chancellor  keeps  a Holstein,^  why  should 
I not  employ  Kiderlen  in  the  same  capacity?”  said  the 
Emperor  one  day  in  conversation  with  Herr  von  Hell- 
dorff.  “He  is  such  a smooth  talker,  and  so  easy-going, 
that  no  one  will  suspect  his  mission.”  Consequently, 
Kiderlen  was  appointed  aid  to  Herbert  Bismarck,  with 
the  understanding  that  he  report  to  the  imperial  master 
all  that  happened  and  all  that  was  spoken  in  the  official 
and  private  households  of  both  the  Chancellor  and  Secre- 
tary of  Foreign  Affairs.  To  be  sure,  as  inqiiisiteur  de  la 
foi  he  was  forced  to  be  his  own  grave-digger,  morally 
and  politically,  for  Count  Herbert’s  successor  had  no  use 
for  him;  but  the  Kaiser  quickly  found  another  berth  for 
his  favorite,  who  became  forthwith  Grand  Mogul  of  the 


^ Privy  Councillor  von  Holstein  was  for  years  Prince  Bismarck’s 
private  mouchard,  and  after  the  Chancellor’s  dismissal  continued  as 
such  in  the  interest  of  the  Foreign  Office. 


246 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


official  press,  and  as  such  alternately  the  scourge  of  the 
Kaiser’s  friends  and  foes,  according  to  His  Majesty’s 
whims.  ‘^As  the  Pooh-Bah  of  men  who  missed  their 
vocation,”  said  Bismarck  some  time  ago,  ‘‘this  Suabian 
chameleon  discovered  his  talent  for  high  politics,  and 
quickly  advanced  from  Minister  to  a first-rate  Free  City 
to  that  of  a fourth-rate  kingdom.” 

Count  Philip  Eulenburg,  whom  Princess  Charlotte  had 
particularly  in  mind  when  speaking  of  the  “out-tricked 
little  charlatans,”  is  likewise  somewhat  of  a letter- writer. 
When  the  Kaiser  tells  an  amusing  story  at  table  con- 
cerning some  member  of  the  Court  or  society  in  Berlin 
or  some  other  capital,  or  gives  ill  report  of  officials  in 
the  diplomatic  service,  we  say  as  often  “ the  mail-pouch 
from  Vienna  has  arrived”  as  “ Kiderlen  is  at  it  again.” 
In  justice  to  Count  Philli’s  literary  skill,  it  should  be 
added,  however,  that  his  most  damnatory  letters  are  often 
least  conspicuous  for  intriguing  artifices.  When  His  Excel- 
lency has  marked  down  a person  as  a quarry,  he  does  not  go 
to  work  with  pick  and  axe,  indeed  not  ! Thus,  during  the 
year  that  intervened  between  Bismarck’s  Vienna  visit  and 
the  resignation  of  Prince  Reuss,^  our  Minister  in  Munich 
never  had  anything  but  words  of  praise  for  his  “venerable 
colleague  ’ ’ at  the  Hof  burg ; but  he  was  venerable^  this  col- 
league, and  His  Grace’s  old  ailment,  that  kept  him  in  bed 
in  those  momentous  days,  when  he  ought  to  have  been  away 
from  his  post  to  avoid  affording  Bismarck  a chance  to  visit 
the  German  Embassy,  might  return  at  any  moment.” 


^ Caprivi,  acting  upon  the  Kaiser’s  express  orders,  had  instructed 
Prince  Reuss  and  the  other  members  of  the  Embassy  to  avoid  coming 
into  contact,  privately  or  officially,  with  Prince  Bismarck,  when  the 
latter  attended  his  son’s  wedding  in  Vienna ; but  Prince  Reuss,  being 
ill  at  the  time,  received  Bismarck  at  his  bedside,  it  being  impossible  for 
him  to  deny  himself. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


247 


And  again:  this  Court”  (Munich)  hear  sin- 

gular reports  about  Her  Royal  Highness”  (wife  of  Prince 
Reuss,  nee  Princess  of  Saxe-Weimar),  ‘^who  openly  asserts 
that  she  will  not  allow  her  husband  to  accept  orders  from 
Herr  von  Caprivi  respecting  people  that  shall  and  shall  not 
be  received  at  her  hotel.” 

I have  these  extracts  from  a person  who  saw  the  origi- 
nals and  who  assures  me  that  ‘‘all  was  written  in  the  most 
amiable  spirit.” 

“His  Majesty  might  show  most  of  these  ministerial 
epistles  without  compromising  Philli’s  reputation  as  a good 
fellow  and  perfect  cavalier,”  says  my  tattling  courtier. 
Yet  pin-thrusts  as  they  were,  the  mischief- making  reports 
did  their  work  wondrously  well,  and  Count  Eulenburg  was 
gazetted  for  the  most  important  ambassadorial  post  within 
the  gift  of  the  Kaiser,  in  January,  1894. 

“ Darmstadt — Munich — Vienna  ! ” exclaimed  Prince  Al- 
brecht, Regent  of  Brunswick,  when  Philli’s  advancement 
was  reported  to  him;  “he  must  be  a second  Bismarck, 
this  crony  of  my  grandnephew.  ’ ’ 

His  Royal  Highness,  always  a hearty  supporter  of  the 
old  Chancellor,  referred  to  Bismarck’s  sudden  advancement 
from  Dike  Commissioner,  in  1846,  to  Plenipotentiary  at 
the  German  Federal  Council  a few  years  later.  “ The 
simile  differs  only  in  one  respect,  ’ ’ remarked  Count  Schu- 
lenburg.  Master  of  the  Hounds  at  the  Regent’s  Court: 
“Bismarck  never  received  a pfennig  of  salary  until  he 
went  to  Frankfurt,  while  Eulenburg  has  been  a public 
charge  since  he  left  school.  And  the  best  of  it  is,  his  im- 
perial friend  makes  him  a present  of  from  twenty-five  to 
sixty  thousand  marks  every  time  his  stipend  is  increased.” 

“You  are  jesting,”  laughed  Albrecht;  “William  giving 
away  anything  besides  compliments  to  impossible  heroes  of 
history  ? ’ ’ 


248 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


I beg  your  Royal  Highness’s  pardon,  and  His  Majesty’s 
too,”  resumed  the  nobleman.  “I  was  reckoning  with  the 
V et at- c'  est-moi  theory,  that  insinuates  itself  into  all  public 
business  nowadays.  To  be  sure,  it’s  the  government  that 
paid,  or  will  pay,  respectively,  these  extra  allowances, — 
twenty-five  thousand  marks  for  moving  from  Darmstadt  to 
Munich,  sixty  thousand  for  carting  the  Minister’s  furniture 
from  the  Isar  to  the  Danube.  ’ ’ 

Though  appearances  are  against  him.  Count  Eulenburg 
is  not  a covetous  man,  only  a poor  one,  kept  poor  and 
made  poorer  year  by  year  by  His  Majesty’s  flattering,  but 
expensive,  visits.  Like  the  typical  Prussian  official,  he 
never  had  money  of  his  own,  and,  unlike  him,  he  married 
a dowerless  woman,  a de  Saudelj,  of  Stockholm,  daughter 
of  a Swedish  nobleman. 

Add  to  this  the  expensive  habits  of  Court  life,  the  duty 
of  entertaining  the  sovereign,  and  the  terrible  infliction 
of  having  to  feed  seven  hungry  youngsters  (‘‘so  devoted 
a royalist  would  never  think  of  having  less  children,  or 
more,  than  His  Majesty,”  said  Bismarck  once),  and  you 
get  a vague  notion  of  things  as  they  were  in  the  Eulenburg 
menage  before  the  Vienna  windfall.  Indeed,  as  Prussian 
Minister  to  Darmstadt,  the  Count  experienced  the  greatest 
difficulties  in  upholding  his  credit,  and  the  Kaiser’s  adju- 
tants say  that  the  family,  when  William  had  been  to  dinner 
or  supper,  lived  off  the  remnants  of  the  meal  for  a week  or 
longer.  One  of  these  gentlemen  assured  me  that  he  dis- 
liked to  accompany  His  Majesty  to  Liebenberg  and  accept 
hospitality  there,  because  he  felt  “like  robbing  a pupillary 
fund”  when  dining  in  a house  where  so  many  others, 
having  a better  right  to  the  food,  went  unprovided. 

The  promotion  to  the  Munich  post,  together  with  the  ex- 
cessive allowance  for  moving,  helped  Eulenburg  momenta- 
rily ; but  until  the  appointment  to  Vienna  put  considerable 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


249 


funds  into  his  pockets,  he  never  breathed  freely.  Mean- 
while, that  is,  during  the  twelve  months  or  longer  that  the 
negotiations  for  Prince  Reuss’s  withdrawal  were  going  on 
(though  sixty-nine  years  old,  Henry  VII  was  not  at  all 
eager  to  retire ; and  his  wife’s  relatives,  notably  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Weimar  and  Queen  Victoria, — the  latter  was 
interested  in  the  case  on  account  of  Princess  Edward  of 
Saxe,  the  Duke  of  Richmond’s  daughter,^ — did  their  best 
to  dissuade  the  Kaiser  from  his  determination), — during 
this  long  and  weary  period  of  waiting,  Eulenburg  was  in 
’the  very  throes  of  financial  despair,  as  everybody  at  Court 
knew.  The  Kaiser  alone  affected  to  be  ignorant  of  his 
friend’s  trials,  and  often  remarked,  at  social  and  other 
gatherings  in  the  palace:  ‘‘1  like  nothing  better  than 
spending  a few  days  at  Liebenberg ; the  only  trouble  is, 
the  place  is  so  terribly  old-fashioned,”  words  that  were 
repeated  to  the  Minister  by  the  royal  house  officials  and 
occasional  guests  over  and  over  again.  Indeed,  it  seemed 
to  me  that  His  Majesty  made  it  a point  to  indulge  in 
observations  of  that  nature  when  and  where  they  might 
do  the  most  good;  namely,  when  Count  Augustus,  the 
grand-master,  was  present.  So  frequent  and  so  annoy- 
ing were  these  references,  that  the  Prince  of  Meiningen 
once  said:  ^‘He  will  be  driven  to  the  Jew,  if  you  keep 
on.” 

‘‘  Keep  on — what?”  retorted  tne  Emperor,  angrily. 

Throwing  his  poverty  up  to  him  as  you  do  to  others ! ” 

‘‘  Do  you  see  His  Excellency  anywhere  about  ? ” said  the 
Kaiser,  sarcastically. 

^ The  marriage  of  this  lady  to  Prince  Edward  of  Saxe-Weimar, 
British  General  and  Commander  of  the  First  Life  Guards,  is  not  recog- 
nized “ as  legitimate  ” in  Germany ; and  while  Pier  Plighness  is  a full- 
fledged  Princess  in  England,  she  is  called  by  the  title  and  name  of 
Grdfin  von  Dornburg  at  the  Prussian  and  Weimar  courts. 


250 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


replied  the  Princess  Charlotte, — '^for  a wonder, 
there  is  no  Eulenburg  present,  but  the  gossips-in-ordinary 
are,”  and  Her  Royal  Highness,  raising  one  of  her  fair 
shoulders,  pointed  to  Generals  von  Hahnke  and  von  Ples- 
sen,  who,  though  apparently  absorbed  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  some  rich  stuffs,  which  the  Sultan  had  presented 
to  Her  Majesty,  were  taking  in  the  conversation  of  the 
august  personages,  as  their  confused  looks,  after  this  sally, 
plainly  showed. 

‘‘Mrs.  Meiningen,”  seeing  the  startled  faces,  burst  out 
laughing,  and  slapped  her  knee  as  her  grandmother,  the 
late  Empress  Augusta,  used  to  do  when  she  was  excited. 

When  this  conversation  took  place,  in  January,  1893, 
during  the  visit  of  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  His  Majesty 
and  their  Highnesses  were  not  on  the  best  of  terms,  for 
reasons  that  will  be  explained  in  another  chapter. 

Eulenburg,  however,  did  not  go  to  the  usurer,  but  selected 
the  safer,  though  thorny,  road : he  borrowed  from  a rela- 
tive, his  sister-in-law,  wife  of  Count  Eulenburg,  Major  in 
the  Guard  Dragoons.  This  lady,  belonging  to  the  well- 
known  Berlin  family  von  Schafer- Voit,  is  blessed  with  a 
considerable  fortune  in  her  own  right,  and  allowed  her- 
self to  be  persuaded  to  provide  not  only  funds  for  the  build- 
ing and  furnishing  of  an  imperial  suite  of  rooms  at  Count 
Philli’s  seat,  but,  in  addition,  lent  her  genial  brother-in-law 
a snug  sum,  the  interest  of  which  was  to  be  exclusively 
applied  to  the  entertainment  of  His  Majesty.  By  this 
arrangement,  the  Minister’s  salary  was  relieved  of  the 
incubus  that  had  sucked  it  dry  for  the  last  four  or  five 
years,  and  his  family  was  at  last  permitted  to  reap  the 
undivided  benefit  of  his  official  industry.  And  (this  was 
common  report  at  the  Neues  Palais)  on  condition  that 
she,  the  commoner,  be  invited  to  meet  His  Majesty  twice 
per  year,  madame  relinquished  all  claims  for  interest. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


251 


To  this  extraordinary  display  of  respectful  devotion  on 
the  part  of  the  Eulenburg  family,  His  Majesty  was  not 
insensible;  not  only  was  Count  Philli,  who  never  in  his 
life  had  distinguished  himself  as  a diplomat,  promoted  be- 
yond the  dreams  of  hardened  ofiice-seekerdom,  but  grati- 
tude led  William  to  unwonted  extravagance  toward  the 
Court.  To  improve  the  outlook  from  the  imperial  suite 
of  rooms  at  Liebenberg,  he  presented  his  host  with  a 
stone  fountain  ^Ho  be  erected  in  the  farm-yard  opposite 
His  Majesty’s  windows,”  leaving  to  His  Excellency  the 
cost  of  setting  up  and  finding  water.  This  latter  fact 
the  official  publication  bureau  carefully  suppressed  when 
the  story  of  the  gift  was  furnished  to  the  papers  (His 
Majesty  likes  his  benefits  attended  by  the  sound  of  drums 
and  the  blare  of  trumpets) ; but  Countess  Eulenburg,  she 
of  the  loose  purse,  who  is  good  at  figuring,  told  our  own 
Countess  Brockdorff  that  the  expense  of  rearing  the  orna- 
ment exceeded  by  far  the  sculptor’s  and  stone-cutters’  bills. 

But  while  Eulenburg,  like  the  rest  of  His  Majesty’s 
impecunious  but  useful  friends,  never  ^^saw  the  color  of 
his  money,”  he  has,  in  the  course  of  years,  tasted  much 
of  the  sweetness  said  to  reside  in  what  Pitt  called  ^Hhe 
power  behind  the  throne.”  Because  he  learned  to  be- 
dizen himself  with  the  Kaiser’s  weaknesses  and  small 
vices,  to  acquiesce  in  his  (William’s)  principles;  because 
he  has  it  in  his  heart  to  gloss  over  His  Majesty’s  faults 
and  to  affect  admiration  for  all  his  doings  and  sayings, 
one  of  the  chief  regalisms  was  turned  over  to  his  tender 
care, — the  making  and  unmaking  of  the  diplomatic  corps. 
The  shifting  of  Herr  von  Radowitz  from  Constantinople 
to  the  fourth-rate  Madrid  ministry;  the  shelving  of  Min- 
ister to  Spain  Baron  von  Stumm  and  of  the  Belgrade  Am- 
bassador, Count  Bray  Steinburg;  the  recall  of  Herr  von 
Schloezer,  Minister  to  the  Vatican ; General  Schweinitz’s 


252 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


enforced  resignation  as  Ambassador  to  Russia, — all  these 
“ blue  letters  ” bore  Eulenburg’s  ear-marks,  all  these  resig- 
nations and  quasi  resignations  were  planned  and  discussed 
at  stag  dinners,  and  during  the  annual  Northland  trips,  be- 
tween Frenchy  anecdotes  and  Skalde-songs.  Three  of  the 
officials  named  had  been  on  the  palace  index  long  before 
their  fall.  “Your  cousin  informs  me  that  Stumm  was  hand 
and  glove  with  the  *01d  Thunderbox’”  {Alte  Racketen- 
kiste, — Bismarck^  “in  Kissingen,”  said  the  Kaiser,  on  Au- 
gust 9,  to  the  newly-made  Minister  of  the  Interior,  Count 
Botho  Eulenburg.  During  His  Majesty’s  absence  in  Eng- 
land, Count  Philli  had  kept  a strict  surveillance  over  mem- 
bers of  the  foreign  service,  and  the  moment  His  Majesty 
set  foot  in  the  Neues  Palais  the  most  fulsome  reports  of 
the  doings  of  all  persons  suspected  of  Bismarckian  sympa- 
thies were  handed  to  him.  “This  fellow  ” (Stumm),  con- 
tinued His  Majesty,  “seems  to  ignore  the  publication  in 
the  Reichsanzeiger,^  and  Philli,  Kiderlen,  and  Holstein  say 
there  are  more  of  them.  Look  out  for  that  sort  of  official 
in  your  department;  I will  have  none  of  them.’’ 

The  Court  was  informed  of  this  conversation  by  the  grand- 
marshal,  who  repeated  it  as  a warning  to  everybody,  and  from 
that  day  on  we  looked  for  Baron  Stumm’s  decapitation  every 
morning  in  the  papers.  We  did  not  have  to  wait  long. 

The  retirement  of  Herr  von  Schloezer  was  likewise  a 
fait  accompli  for  us  long  before  that  gentleman  learned  of 
his  dismissal  by  an  article  in  the  Munich  Allgemeine  Zeit~ 
ung,  a paper  then  quite  frequently  used  for  ballons  d' essai 
and  other  publications  by  the  resident  Prussian  Minister, 
Philip  Eulenburg.  As  it  turned  out,  the  matter  had  been 
arranged  between  Kaiser  and  favorite,  and  His  Majesty 


^ Two  rescripts,  published  July  7,  1892,  concerning  the  attitude  Ger- 
man and  Prussian  Ministers  should  assume  toward  Prince  Bismarck. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


253 


authorized  the  announcement,  never  suspecting  that  notifi- 
cations by  the  Chancellor’s  office  do  not  travel  so  fast  as 
his  own  thoughts.  So  Schloezer  was  taken  completely 
by  surprise, — as  completely  as  the  press,  which  regarded 
him  as  the  foremost  of  German  diplomats;  and  only  the 
ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  Court,  long  used  to  see  the 
Ambassador  through  their  master’s  spectacles  as  ^^a  slave 
to  Bismarck  adulation,”  as  ^‘a  secret  opponent  to  the  new 
course,''  and  as  “the  representative  of  a great  power  whose 
saloperie  was  responsible  for  the  riddle : ‘ Who  wears  Schloe- 
zer’s  clean  shirts?’  ” — only  we  privileged  mortals  were  able 
to  say:  “I  told  you  so.”  But,  with  all  this,  it  did  not 
long  remain  a secret  that  the  real  reason  for  Schloezer’ s 
and  Radowitz’s  fall  was  the  superior  mental  equipment  of 
these  diplomats ; Eulenburg  thought  them  fully  capable  of 
distinguishing  themselves  at  the  first  opportunity,  and  that 
would  not  exactly  reflect  credit  upon  him,  their  superior 
in  rank.  So  the  Kaiser  was  pestered  with  stories  of  their 
unruly  ambitions;  exaggerated  accounts  of  their  little 
weaknesses  were  spread,  and  their  known  friendship  with 
Bismarck  did  the  rest,  while  in  the  case  of  Herr  von  Rad- 
owitz  the  Emperor’s  wish  to  be  represented  by  persons  of 
great  title  was  used  as  an  additional  lever  to  dislodge  the 
proscribed  official.  True,  his  immediate  successor,  Radolin, 
was  only  a Prince  of  the  most  recent  creation  (1888),  but 
what  did  the  Sultan  know  of  such  details?  So  the  tried 
diplomat  of  the  [old  school  was  discarded  for  the  goldstick, 
who  gathered  his  political  experience  in  trotting  to  the 
tune  of  the  dinner  march  and  auditing  butchers’,  dress- 
makers’, and  other  household  bills.  ^ 


* Prince  Radolin  was  Emperor  Frederick’s  Court-marshal,  and  after- 
ward William  the  Second’s  lord-carver  {ecuyer  tranchant).  His  ele- 
vation in  personal  rank  was  due  to  his  marriage  to  an  English  lady,  the 
daughter  of  the  Right  Honorable  Thomas  Wakefield. 


254 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


I say  this  in  regret  rather  than  in  criticism  of  His  Grace, 
I assure  you ; for,  while  Radolin  is  insignificant, — his  best 
friend  cannot  gainsay  that, — he  is  a charming  fellow,  ami- 
able, polite,  obliging,  altogether  a worthy  exponent  of 
virtues  that  may  be  said  to  apply  to  the  Kaiser’s  friends 
and  companions  in  general,  with  the  difference,  though, 
that  in  one  or  two  cases  the  adjective  ‘‘insignificant” 
should  be  emphasized,  while  the  others  must  be  qualified  as 
“ outwardly.” 

At  Court,  General  von  Hahnke,  Chief  of  the  Kaiser’s 
Military  Cabinet,  easily  passes  as  the  most  trivial  man 
attached  to  His  Majesty’s  person,  either  officially  or  by 
bonds  of  friendship,  while  to  General  von  Plessen,  Chief 
of  the  Royal  Head-quarters,  the  palm  of  graceful  complai- 
sance is  accorded.  But  before  I undertake  to  define  the 
positions  and  rights  and  duties  of  these  two  much-talked-of 
personages,  I want  to  point  out  that  His  Majesty  appears  to 
be  wofully  deficient  in  judging  human  nature.  While  there 
may  be  method  in  the  selection  of  mental  nonentities  for 
his  suite,  his  attachment  to  men  of  doubtful  morals  and 
undoubted  lack  of  penetration  in  general,  is  explainable 
only  on  the  ground  of  his  own  superficiality.  As  I never 
saw  the  Kaiser,  of  whose  domestic  virtues  we  hear  so  much, 
display  any  interest  in  his  children,  save  that  of  examining 
their  clothes  as  to  fit  and  quality,  so  he  chooses  his  friends 
by  outside  appearances, — a great  name  and  high  position 
being  the  sole  requisites. 

William  is  the  only  man  of  royal  blood  who  parades  a 
liking  for  the  profligate  Otto  of  Austria,  the  second  son  of 
Archduke  Karl  Ludwig,  whom  the  nations  of  the  dual 
monarchy,  fearful  of  his  possible  succession  to  the  throne, 
include  in  their  daily  prayers  under  the  head  of  “Deliver 
us  from  all  evil.”  And  Count  Hoenbroich,  the  ex-Jesuit, 
had  no  sooner  started  out  to  fill  the  penny  Jew  press  with 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


255 


denunciations  of  his  former  creed,  when  the  Kaiser  called 
him  to  Court  and  introduced  him  to  Her  Majesty,  not  as 
a freak,  but  as  somebody  akin  to  a second  Luther.  So 
enthusiastic  was  the  Emperor  about  his  new  friend  that  he 
even  proposed  to  invite  the  ex-priest’s  wife,  and  only  after 
a scene  with  Auguste  Victoria,  in  which  the  Empress — God 
knows  how  she  gathered  the  courage  to  do  so  ! — ventilated 
his  strange  faible  for  Jewesses  and  French  women,  was  this 
new  scandal  averted. 

And  the  third  on  the  list  of  the  Kaiser’s  roue  inti- 
mates,— the  Right  Honorable  Count  Visone,  Italian  Charge- 
d' affaires  during  the  absence  from  Berlin  of  the  late  Count 
Lanza,  the  Ambassador ! 

The  whole  Court  was  familiar  with  this  gentleman’s  life:  a 
mere  staggering  between  alcove  and  bottle  ! He  was  known 
to  parade  his  courtesans  even  more  brazenly  than  the  Duke 
of  Schleswig,  and  his  gambling  debts  and  similar  extrava- 
gancies were  the  talk  of  the  town.  Yet  the  Emperor  saw 
in  him  only  ^Hhe  perfect  cavalier,”  ^Hhe  schneidiger  mdea 
of  the  world,” — a favorite  expression  with  His  Majesty, — 
“the  distinguished  scion  of  a historic  family.”  And  so 
this  associate  of  demi-reps  and  gamesters  became  the  petted 
darling  of  the  Schloss  and  Neues  Palais ; his  mots  were 
quoted  admiringly  in  Her  Majesty’s  boudoir,  and  his 
liveries  and  horses  were  discussed  in  the  salons  and  ante- 
chambers as  well,  until,  finally, — it  was,  I believe,  in  March, 
1894, — a despatch  from  Rome  put  an  end  to  this  adulation 
in  exactly  the  manner  that  had  been  prophesied.  The 
Count  and  royal  Minister  had  absconded  after  defrauding 
the  governors  of  the  Jockey  Club  of  ten  thousand  francs  in 
cash  and  fifteen  thousand  francs  at  the  tables.  This  had 
been  the  mode  of  manipulation : his  Lordship  had  been 
losing  heavily,  and  at  the  close  of  the  establishment,  at  5 
A.M.,  owed  fifteen  thousand  francs,  whereupon  he  produced 


256 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


a check-book  issued  by  a Berlin  firm,  and  wrote  out  a draft 
for  twenty-five  thousand  francs. 

^^Take  what  is  yours,”  he  said,  in  his  grandiloquent  way, 
^^and  give  me  the  balance.”  Two  days  later  the  managers 
of  the  club  learned  that  Visone  had  just  fifty  marks  to  his 
credit  in  Berlin,  while  inquiries  at  his  home  developed  the 
fact  that  he  left  for  parts  unknown  on  the  day  the  fraud 
was  committed. 

Compared  with  a good  many  of  His  Majesty’s  friends, 
the  members  of  his  official  household  are  paragons  of 
virtue,  if  not  of  manliness.  There  is,  first  of  all.  Chief 
of  the  Royal  Head-quarters  and  Adjutant-General  Herr 
von  Plessen,  the  picture  of  a proud  nobleman,  tall  and 
muscular,  with  grayish  blonde  hair  and  ditto  moustache, 
large,  kind  blue  eyes,  and  courtly  manners,  ‘‘just  such  a 
man  as  I would  select  by  the  dozen  for  my  cabinet,  if  I 
were  a Catherine  of  Russia,”  said  one  of  the  Emperor’s 
sisters  to  me  one  evening,  in  a burst  of  confidence. 

“ But  His  Excellency  is  nearly  fifty.” 

“He  was  not  born  so  old,  and,  besides,  it  would  mean 
that  he  has  a son  or  sons  between  the  ages  of  twenty-five  or 
thirty.” 

Well,  Plessen  is  no  Grigori  Orloff,  hardly  an  Alexei^  in 
respect  to  influence  over  the  sovereign ; a splendid  lay- 
figure,  gorgeously  accoutred  with  a wealth  of  glittering 
orders  and  ribbons  of  many  hues,  he  seems  to  be  more  and 
more  degenerating  into  a solemn  compiler!  “Yet,”  says 
the  voice  of  the  palace,  where  everybody  sympathizes  with 
the  reputed  lover  of  a fair  Princess  (“  Sister  Lottchen  ”), — 


^ Count  Orloff  was  the  celebrated  paramour  of  Catherine  II ; his 
brother  Alexei,  who  aided  in  the  conspiracy  to  enthrone  her  by  stran- 
gling Czar  Peter  III  with  his  own  hands  (he  lived  till  1808),  was  soon 
discarded  as  a favorite  and  banished  from  Court. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


257 


‘^yet,  think  of  the  training  he  got,  and  how  his  proud 
spirit  was  systematically  crushed.”  There  is  much  in 
this.  After  the  Kaiser’s  enthronization,  von  Plessen  was 
expected  to  receive  the  command  of  a Guard  Infantry 
brigade,  but,  instead.  His  Majesty  sent  him  to  Karlsruhe, 
announcing  this  quasi  degradation  in  words  that  sounded 
like  rank  sarcasm. 

^‘You  may  ask  a boon  of  me,”  said  His  Majesty  one 
day  after  taking  dinner  at  the  mess  of  the  First  Guards, 
von  Plessen’s  regiment. 

The  proposition  was  so  sudden  that  the  Colonel  became 
momentarily  disconcerted.  While  he  was  stammering  some- 
thing about  ^‘undeserved  all-highest  indulgence,”  etc.,  the 
Kaiser  continued : “ By  my  grace  you  are  appointed  briga- 
dier in  the  capital  of  Baden ; you  will,  therefore,  serve 
under  the  eyes  of  my  uncle.  Grand  Duke  Frederick,  Prus- 
sian Colonel-General  of  Cavalry.” 

It  was  an  awful  blow  for  the  dashing  officer  and  rich 
courtier,  but  he  had  to  look  pleased,  and  acknowledge  his 
“most  submissive  thanks”  and  all  that  sort  of  thing. 

When  he  returned,  in  1892,  as  adjutant-general,^ — the 
position  he  originally  coveted, — he  was  a much  changed 
man.  His  fine  zeal  to  let  others  profit  by  his  eminent 
strategic  knowledge  had  entirely  subsided,  and  when  the 
Kaiser  answered  his  question,  whether  the  technical  lessons’ 
should  be  continued,  with  a vague  “You  will  receive  in- 
structions when  His  Majesty  feels  like  going  to  school 
again,”  he  submitted  without  protest,  and  never  afterward 


^ The  Kaiser’s  adjutants  often  hold  at  the  same  time  commissions  in 
the  army. 

* William’s  military  education  was  far  from  finished  when  he  came 
to  the  throne,  and  by  Bismarck’s  advice  he  continued  his  studies  in 
strategy  and  tactics  under  the  exacting  General  von  Wittich’s  tutelage. 


258 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


mentioned  the  matter.  Possibly  the  case  of  Count  Wal- 
dersee  frightened  him,  as  it  did  others.  Like  von  Plessen, 
the  Emperor’s  uncle  by  marriage  is  a better  military  leader 
than  the  war-lord,  but  was  incautious  enough  to  let  it  out ; 
hence  his  enforced  residence  in  the  dirty  Altona-Krah- 
winkel.  The  new  chief  of  head-quarters  had  come  to  the 
capital  to  stay,  and  with  that  end  in  view  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  turn  himself  into  a nought  as  an  officer  and  as  a 
man. 

Alas  and  alack ! how  your  paradise-conquering  Baron 
Trenck  of  a decade  ago  has  changed  into  a meek  pot-boiler, 
royal  Princess  ! Though  still  a type  of  splendid  manhood, 
it  is  scarcely  possible  to  recognize  the  daring  lover  of  an 
Emperor’s  daughter  in  the  von  Plessen  of  to-day,  in  that 
smooth-tongued  courtier  content  to  see  and  to  be  seen,  to 
answer  when  he  is  spoken  to,  and  who,  to  cloak  the  abso- 
lute want  of  employment  his  great  title  covers,  does  odd 
jobs  that  one  of  the  House -marshals,  a flunky,  or  courier 
might  perform  as  well. 

Time  and  again  have  I seen  the  chief  of  head-quarters 
come  from  the  Kaiser’s  cabinet  with  an  air  of  importance 
that  indicated  business  of  the  greatest  consequence,  while 
it  developed  later  on  that  the  Kaiser  had  commissioned 
him  to  procure  a new  novel,  or  some  pamphlet,  or  look  at 
a horse  offered  for  sale.  Indeed,  this  amiable  sabretasche 
is  glad  to  concern  himself  with  his  master’s  most  trivial 
affairs  to  while  away  the  time  that  hangs  heavily  upon  his 
hands,  for,  strictly  speaking,  he  has  nothing  whatever  to 
do,  save  to  wait  upon  His  Majesty  once  every  twenty-four 
hours  and  receive  for  his  trouble  an  invitation  for  lunch 
or  dinner,  or  an  order  to  hold  himself  in  readiness  for  a 
journey,  a hunting-trip,  or  some  festival. 

That  the  Kaiser  abolished  one  of  the  principal  duties  of 
the  chief  of  head-quarters,  that  of  keeping  the  monarch 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


259 


posted  on  military  matters  of  a technical  nature,  has  been 
mentioned ; another  function,  the  supervision  of  the  adju- 
tant service,  became  obsolete  by  His  Majesty’s  assumption 
of  it ; while  a third  field  of  legitimate  activity,  the  charge 
of  the  petitions  for  audience  on  the  part  of  military  per- 
sons, was  closed  ‘^as  conflicting  with  the  Court-marshal’s 
prerogatives.  ’ ’ So  there  is  nothing  left  for  Herr  von  Ples- 
sen  to  do  but  to  do  nothing,  as  we  say  at  Court,  and  draw 
several  salaries  and  many  more  fees  as  compensation ; 
namely,  the  income  of  a General,  that  of  Chief  of  Head- 
quarters, and  that  of  an  Adjutant-General;  and  as  per- 
quisites: table-money,  travelling  expenses,  servants’  and 
livery  moneys  (t^^e  servants  themselves  are  furnished  by 
the  army),  and,  finally,  rations  for  five  horses. 

A three-ply  salary,  augmented  by  many  extras,  likewise 
falls  to  the  lot  of  Herr  von  Hahnke,  Chief  of  the  Military 
Cabinet  and  Adjutant-General,  who,  besides,  holds  a canon- 
ship  in  Brandenburg,  worth  four  thousand  five  hundred 
marks  per  year,  all  because  he  has  amplified  the  knowledge 
of  cottoning  to  the  tastes  of  the  Kaiser  to  a fine  art.  Gen- 
eral von  Hahnke  is  regarded  as  the  typical  Prussian  parade 
soldier,  after  the  style  of  ^^ces  perruques  of  the  beginning 
of  the  century,  who  shouted  d Paris  in  August,  1806,  and 
ran  away  at  Jena  a month  later,”  as  Count  Haeseler,  the 
commander  of  the  army  of  the  West  at  the  manoeuvres  of 
1897,  puts  it. 

With  the  exception  of  a year  or  two,  when  he  held  the 
colonelship  of  the  Fifty-second  Infantry,  Herr  von  Hahnke 
has  been  an  adjutant  and  caterer  to  the  tastes  of  superiors 
from  major  and  colonel  upward  to  royal  Princes  all  his 
life.  Emperor  Frederick,  who  was  not  insensible  to  flat- 
tery, liked  and  patronized  him ; but  he  became  a man  of 
consequence  only  under  the  present  war-lord,  who  should 
go  down  to  history  as  the  employer  of  biped  machines. 


260 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


We  see  a great  deal  of  Herr  von  Hahnke  at  Court,  and 
a more  propitious  and  obliging  gentleman  never  breathed 
the  air  of  a palace.  His  tact  is  proverbial  and  his  devo- 
tion to  the  Emperor  a by-word  in  upper  society,  which 
credits  him  with  selecting  for  a device  on  the  Grafts 
escutcheon,  which  William  promised  him,  the  words : 
‘‘The  King’s  will  is  my  highest  law.” 

“ The  King’s  will ! ” That  such  a thing  exists  in  Prus- 
sia has  been  doubted  time  and  again  since  Frederick  the 
Third’s  death;  its  existence  as  a continuity  for,  let  us  say, 
twice  twelve  hours  at  least,  is  denied  by  the  Kaiser’s  own 
acts  almost  daily,  but  we  courtiers  know  better.  For  my 
part,  I think  the  observation  of  how  much  of  a slave  Wil- 
liam is  to  his  momentary  purposes  makes  those  nearest 
him  obey  even  his  most  evanescent  notions  ! And  where 
a Plessen  silently  submits,  how  much  easier  must  it  be  for  a 
Hahnke  to  listen  and  report,  set  people  against  each  other, 
and  keep  mum  / 

These  qualities  helped  to  obtain  for  an  indifferent  colonel, 
such  as  he  was,  the  gilded  shoulder-knots  of  a brigadier  of 
the  Guards,  and,  glossing  over  his  flagrant  exhibitions  of 
tactical  ignorance,  pushed  him  into  the  most  influential 
post  at  Court,  and  kept  him  there  year  in,  year  out,  semper 
Augustus^  as  many  knowing  persons  claim. 

No  wonder  Herr  von  Hahnke  is  sneered  at  by  those  who 
fear  him  most, — army  men  possessing,  besides  rank  and 
position,  strategic  knowledge  of  a superior  order.  No 
wonder  the  battalions  of  generals,  deposed  on  motion  of 
the  Military  Cabinet,  in  late  years,  named  him  “ Corporal 
Guillotine.”  This  man,  with  a contortionist’s  backbone 
and  the  flexibility  of  neck-muscles  of  a nodding  manda- 
rin,— if  the  real  ones  are  anything  like  the  China 
figures, — ^beats  them  all,  being  at  once  the  source  and 
the  echo  of  the  war-lord’s  volition.  Under  Herr  von 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


261 


Hahnke  the  Military  Cabinet  has  become  the  antipode  of 
the  War  Ministry,  the  office  which  a cantankerous  Reichs- 
tag insists  upon  holding  responsible  for  the  budget,  while 
the  Kaiser  as  tenaciously  adheres  to  the  hallucination  that 
moneys  once  granted  should  be  subject  to  his  pleasure 
alone.  Bronsart  von  Schellendorf  fought  that  presump- 
tion for  years,  not  knowing  that  all  this  time  the  Kaiser 
was  supplied  with  ammunition  against  him  by  one  of  his 
friends,  the  redoubtable  Hahnke.  Only  when  the  latter 
attempted  to  place  altogether  too  many  cuckoo  eggs  into 
snug  position  at  the  many-roomed  palace  on  Leipziger 
Strasse  did  the  unsuspecting  Minister  tumble  to  the  fact 
that  there  was  more  than  one  Holstein-Kiderlen  combina- 
tion in  existence. 

Herr  von  Hahnke’s  chief  business  is  to  superintend  the 
clerical  work  connected  with  the  placing  and  displacing 
of  the  perso7inel  of  the  army,  and  to  report  to  His  Maj- 
esty causes  and  inducements  for  changing  commands  that 
come  to  his  knowledge  through  bureaucratic  or  other  chan- 
nels. Think  of  such  a weapon  in  the  hands  of  one  who 
not  only  has  many  irons  of  his  own  in  the  fire,  but  is  serv- 
ing a master  sodden  with  prejudices,  notions  of  absolutism, 
and  whimsicalities,  and  who,  last  but  not  least,  begrudges 
every  minute  of  time  when  public  business  encroaches  upon 
his  endless  routine  of  pleasure.  It  is  claimed  by  one  who 
knows,  and  whom  I will  presently  introduce,  that  His 
Majesty  need  but  hint  at  the  possibility  of  dispensing  with 
the  services  of  a person  on  some  future  occasion  to  set  von 
Hahnke’s  cabinet  working  to  make  the  proscribed  one’s 
fall  sure,  if  not  imperative,  for  applicants  eager  to  step 
into  dead  men’s  shoes  are  always  plentiful;  and  if  the 
Kaiser  himself  has  no  one  in  petto ^ why,  one’s  relatives  or 
friends,  or  the  enemies  of  some  powerful  official  marked  for 
early  retirement,  will  do  excellently  well. 


262 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


am  willing  to  bet  that  a good  many  heads  fell  into 
the  basket  this  morning,”  said  Duke  Gunther  of  Schleswig 
to  my  mistress  one  day,  toward  the  end  of  the  fourth  week 
in  January,  1891.  His  Highness  was  standing  at  one  of 
the  windows  of  the  Pillar  Room  in  the  Berlin  Schloss,  fol- 
lowing with  his  eyes  the  Kaiser,  who  had  just  entered  his 
hunting-gig  in  the  company  of  General  von  Hahnke. 

‘‘What  makes  you  think  so,  Gunther?”  asked  the  Em- 
press, with  an  expression  of  astonishment  on  her  still  pale 
face.  Auguste  Victoria,  you  must  know,  had  only  recently 
left  the  Wochenbeit'^  to  prepare  for  the  Kaiser’s  birthday 
festival,  then  approaching. 

“Corporal  Guillotine — I beg  Your  Majesty’s  pardon, 
the  Sword-bearer  of  the  Lord  High  Executioner — looks  so 
devilish  sly  this  morning.  I reckon  the  Hahnkes  will  have 
golden  stars  and  spurs  instead  of  pigs’  knuckles  with  their 
sour-crout  to-day.” 

All  of  us  laughed  at  the  Duke’s  sally,  for  the  chief  of 
cabinet’s  penurious  menage  is  notorious.  “If  I were  only 
sure  that  you  could  keep  a secret,”  Her  Majesty  resumed 
after  a while, — and  my  mistress  and  her  brother  began  to 
talk  together  in  subdued  voices. 

Two  days  later  the  “secret”  was  in  everybody’s  mouth: 
The  Kaiser  had  offered  the  command  of  the  Ninth  Corps 
to  Count  Waldersee  when  the  latter  appeared  to  congratu- 
late him  on  his  birthday.  This  meant,  of  course,  that  the 
incumbent  of  the  office.  General  von  Leszczynski,  was  to 
be  shelved.  His  head  had  fallen  into  the  basket  that 
morning, — not  “a  good  many,”  as  His  Highness  sus- 
pected; but  then  Leszczynski  was  worth  a good  many 
small-fry  generals,  to  Herr  von  Hahnke  at  least,  for  His 


1 Prince  Joachim  was  born  on  December  17,  1890,  being  the  first  of 
the  imperial  children  to  see  the  light  in  the  Berlin  Schloss. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


263 


Excellency  is  a devoted  friend  and  admirer  of  the  old 
Chancellor,  and  therefore  a thorn  in  Count  Philli’s  and 
Hahnke’s  side. 

Leszczynski’s  case  is  instructive  also  as  showing  the  tech- 
nical modus  operandi  of  the  Military  Cabinet.  As  indi- 
cated, the  commander’s  dismissal  was  determined  upon  on 
the  24th  or  25th  of  January.  The  same  day,  von  Hahnke 
sent  a letter  to  Altona,  demanding  the  General’s  immediate 
resignation.  On  the  27th  the  Prussian  Minister  in  Hamburg 
telegraphed  that  Leszczynski  would  go  without  trouble. 

His  formal  resignation  was,  however,  not  received  until 
January  31,  four  days  after  his  office  had  been  tendered  to 
some  one  else ; all  of  which  proves  that  the  King’s  will 
is  the  highest  law,”  intent  upon  the  summary  consumma- 
tion of  its  decrees,  and  disregarding  alike  the  rules  of  time 
and  the  principles  of  ordinary  courtesy. 

At  a Court  concert,  soon  after  New  Year,  1893,  I wit- 
nessed the  following  conversation  between  the  Duke  of 
Schleswig,  at  that  time  a captain  in  the  General  Staff,  and 
the  Hereditary  Prince  of  Meiningen,  then  commander  of 
the  Czar  Alexander  Regiment. 

have  it  from  a comrade  in  the  A-B-C  school  for 
field-marshals”  (the  General  Staff  office),  he  said,  ^Hhat 
Hahnke’s  cabinet  creates  and  bounces  generals  nowadays 
on  mere  hearsay.  All-highest  remarks,  which  William  mut- 
ters between  his  teeth  while  listening  to  Hahnke’s  reports, 
are  jotted  down  by  the  latter,  and  hints  to  resign,  dismis- 
sals, and  promotions  follow  in  consequence,  the  documents 
being  presented  to  our  dear  brother-in-law  for  signature 
usually  a quarter  or  half  an  hour  before  His  Majesty  starts 
on  a hunting-trip  or  some  other  expedition ; that  is,  when 
he  is  ready  to  sign  almost  everything,  just  to  get  rid  of  it.” 

have  heard  similar  stories,”  said  the  Hereditary 
Prince,  when  Gunther  paused  for  breath ; ‘‘but  continue.” 


264 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


resume  where  my  comrade  left  off,”  drawled  the 
Duke.  “Well,  then,  my  authority  regards  as  the  worst 
part  of  the  whole  business  that  in  a good  many  instances 
the  all-highest  remarks  are  not  even  fully  understood,  and 
that  Hahnke  is  too  much  of  a courtier  to  ask  His  Majesty 
to  repeat  a word  or  two,  or  to  explain  the  meaning  of  his 
monosyllables.  Thus  many  a brave  fellow  has  been  un- 
done while  a corresponding  number  of  drones  were  smug- 
gled into  fat  places.  But,  of  course,”  added  His  High- 
ness, observing  an  ugly  look  on  Prince  Bernhard’s  face, 
“ Hahnke  could  not  do  anything  to  hmt you,^' 

“No,”  growled  Meini’^gen,  “not  while  lam  about.” 
Shortly  afterward,  His  Highness  severed  all  connection 
with  the  Court,  a circumstance  which  gave  the  Military 
Cabinet  the  desired  opportunity  to  live  up  to  Prince  Bern- 
hard’s expectations,  just  recorded.  He  was  forced  to  resign, 
and  so  was  Duke  Gunther,  for  that  matter,  while  three  more 
Bismarck  adherents,  generals  of  acknowledged  ability,  their 
Excellencies  Herren  von  Schlichting,  von  Blume,  and  von 
Spitz,  kept  the  pair  company.  The  dismissals,  resignations, 
and  removals  of  less  conspicuous  men  continue  unabated, 
year  in,  year  out. 

That  His  Highness  of  Schleswig’s  allusions  to  royal  sig- 
natures surreptitiously  obtained  to  make  room  for  drones 
are  well  founded  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  twice  in 
succession  obsolete  positions  have  been  revived  to  afford 
berths  for  some  of  Herr  von  Hahnke’s  relatives. 

First,  there  was  General  von  Muller,  brigadier  of  the 
Guards,  who  made  an  ass  of  himself  during  the  manoeuvres 
of  1893  and  was  marked  for  dismissal  in  consequence,  the 
commander  of  his  corps  not  only  blacklisting  His  Excel- 
lency, but  insisting  upon  his  immediate  removal.  Now, 
Muller  happens  to  be  von  Hahnke’s  cousin,  and  bets  stood 
ten  to  one  in  the  palace  that  the  blue  letter  would  sooner 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


265 


seek  the  foremost  strategist  in  the  service  than  the  unlucky 
brigadier.  As  a matter  of  fact,  His  Majesty  never  saw  the 
communication  from  the  corps  commander,  and,  instead  of 
impeaching  the  General’s  ability,  Hahnke  recommended 
him  for  the  post  of  “ Inspecteur  of  the  Schuetzen  and  Jae- 
ger Battalions,  ’ ’ a promotion  carrying  with  it  a considerable 
increase  of  salary.  And  von  Muller  being  a fine-looking 
man,  a dashing  soldier.  His  Majesty  thought  he  would  look 
well  at  the  head  of  these  crack  troops,  and  glibly  signed 
the  appointment.  That  the  post  had  been  singled  out  for 
cancellation  as  more  than  superfluous.  His  Majesty  had  for- 
gotten, and  Hahnke,  to  quote  Duke  Gunther,  was  *Hoo 
much  of  a courtier”  to  jog  the  imperial  memory. 

The  same  sort  of  thing  happened  shortly  afterward  with 
respect  to  the  office  of  commandant  of  Altona,  which 
latter,  by  the  way,  is  an  open  city,  and  overstocked  with 
military  dignitaries,  anyhow.  Richter  and  Bebel  had  made 
repeated  motions  for  the  abolishment  of  this  sinecure,  in 
the  Reichstag,  and  the  War  Ministry,  in  compliance  with 
these  requests,  had  struck  it  from  the  list  of  appropriations 
for  1894,  it  being  agreed  that  the  last  incumbent  was  to  re- 
sign in  the  previous  fall.  So  far,  so  good.  But  during  the 
Kaiser  manoeuvres  in  Rhineland,  General  von  Schleinitz, 
brother-in-law  of  Herr  von  Hahnke,  permitted  his  brigade 
to  be  bamboozled,  himself  falling  prisoner,  and  that  while 
the  chief  war-lord  was  but  a few  miles  off,  at  Treves.  Con- 
sequently, Schleinitz’s  disgrace  was  only  a question  of  a few 
weeks  at  the  most,  and  the  chief  of  cabinet  had  to  act 
promptly  and  to  the  point.  So  His  Majesty  found  an 
order,  appointing  Schleinitz  commander  of  Altona,  on  his 
desk  at  Metz,  the  next  important  stopping-place ; and  when 
he  asked  von  Hahnke  what  it  meant,  the  latter  offered 
so  many  reasons  for  continuing  the  post  in  the  teeth  of 
parliamentarian  opposition,  that  the  war-lord,  whose  time 


266 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


was  very  much  occupied  on  account  of  the  visit  of  the 
Prince  of  Naples,  signed  the  paper  without  further  ado. 
The  ado  developed  next  spring,  when  the  Reichstag  looked 
into  the  matter  and  refused  to  grant  the  appointee’s  pay. 
The  debates  on  this  subject  were  many  and  pointed,  and 
both  Kaiser  and  Hahnke  were  severely  criticised,  until, 
finally,  Bronsart  von  Schellendorf,  by  a daring  and  master- 
ful speech,  persuaded  Parliament  that  Herr  von  Schleinitz 
must  be  retained.  Needless  to  say,  the  Reichstag  knew 
nothing  of  the  relationship  existing  between  Herr  von 
Hahnke  and  Generals  von  Schleinitz  and  von  Muller. 

Such  a service,  rendered  in  the  hour  of  distress,  not 
willingly,  it  is  true,  but  by  the  Kaiser’s  express  orders  (the 
negotiations  to  this  end  were  long,  and  often  on  the  point 
of  discontinuance,  as  I was  told  at  the  time), — the  deliver- 
ance from  the  Reichstag’s  wrath, — would  have  placed  any 
other  man  under  lasting  obligations;  not  so  the  chief  of 
the  Military  Cabinet,  who,  to  retain  his  influence  and,  in- 
deed, his  head,  must  hold  himself  ready  to  do  his  master’s 
bidding  without  consulting  his  own  likes  and  dislikes, 
scruples  or  sympathies.  In  the  course  of  the  next  year, 
the  Kaiser  tired  of  his  Minister  of  War,  and  Herr  von 
Hahnke  was  intrusted  with  the  task  of  procuring  His 
Excellency’s  resignation,  the  proposed  new  military  code, 
advocated  by  Bronsart,  being  the  point  of  issue.  This 
matter  was  to  come  to  a head  at  the  Letzlingen  hunt  in 
December,  1895,  the  then  Minister  of  the  Interior,  Herr 
von  Koeller,  having  engaged  himself  to  take  the  initiative. 
Accordingly,  that  gentleman  appeared  at  the  hunting-box 
in  a state  of  great  mental  distress,  as  House-marshal  von 
Egloffstein,  on  duty  in  Letzlingen,  told  us.  So  nervous 
and  so  absent-minded  was  Koeller  that  His  Majesty  joked 
him  about  it,  and  suggested  he  better  postpone  his  debut 
with  the  tell-tale  loving-cup.  This,  by  the  way,  is  an 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


267 


old-fashioned  bumper  resting  between  two  immense  antlers. 
It  was  fashioned  after  a design  of  Frederick  William  IV  for 
the  express  purpose  of  playing  a joke  on  old  Field-marshal 
Count  Wrangel,  a venerable  reprobate,  who  at  the  age  of 
seventy  indulged  in  such  luxuries  as  paternity  cases  brought 
by  servants  and  milliners.  Whoever  visits  Letzlingen  for 
the  first  time  must  empty  the  bumper,  which  holds  about 
half  a bottle  of  champagne,  at  one  draught,  and  the  sup- 
position is  that  if  any  of  the  contents  are  spilled  the 
drinker  must  be  a cuckolder,  not  a cuckold,  as  the  antlers 
rising  over  his  head  indicate.  You  perceive,  our  Kings 
are  not  conspicuous  for  the  delicacy  of  their  humor.  But 
to  return  to  Herr  von  Egloffstein’s  report,  which  at  the 
time  created  quite  a stir  in  the  household,  as  in  the  end 
Uncle  Chlodwig  became  mixed  up  in  the  matter.  ^‘The 
Polizeiminister  ” (Herr  von  Koeller’s  nickname),  con- 
tinued the  marshal,  excused  his  unfestive  manner  with 
bothersome  official  business,  and  after  dinner  the  Kaiser 
sent  Generals  von  Hahnke  and  von  Plessen  to  him  to  find 
out  what  was  the  matter.  These  gentlemen  returned  to  His 
Majesty  with  the  information  that  Koeller  despaired  of  the 
success  of  the  anti-military  code  agitation  because  Bronsart, 
with  whom  he  had  a personal  rencontre^  was  fighting  him 
(Koeller)  tooth  and  nail.  After  that,  all  present  expected 
to  find  the  War  Minister  an  official  corpse  next  morn- 
ing,” concluded  Herr  von  Egloff stein,  but  instead  came 
the  great  boomerang.  Herr  von  Koeller  had  no  sooner  re- 
turned to  Berlin,  when  Prince  Hohenlohe  waited  upon  him 
with  a properly-drawn-up  vote  of  loss  of  confidence,  signed 
by  all  the  Ministers,  advising  him  to  resign  as  speedily  as 
possible  after  the  exhibition  he  had  made  at  Letzlingen. 

The  Kaiser  was  furious.  I want  to  have  a talk  with  you 
about  your  interfering  old  uncle.”  With  these  words,  he 
burst  into  Her  Majesty’s  salon^  where  Countess  Brockdorff 


268 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


and  myself  were  trying  to  entertain  the  sovereign  lady; 
and  hardly  had  the  door  closed  behind  us  when  His  Maj- 
esty’s voice  rang  out  with  cutting  denunciations  of  the 
Chancellor,  so  that  the  grand-mistress  ordered  the  ante- 
chamber cleared.  After  supper,  the  Empress  told  us  His 
Majesty  had  decided  to  ignore  the  crisis,  and  would  set  out 
on  another  hunting  expedition  without  delay,  while  Herr 
von  Koeller  was  to  take  a furlough.  ‘^The  differences 
between  Uncle  Chlodwig  and  the  Minister  of  the  Interior 
may  be  adjusted  after  all,”  suggested  our  mistress.  They 
were  not,  however,  and  Koeller’ s temporary  retirement 
became  permanent  after  a little  while. 

These  tactics  having  failed,  others  still  more  despicable 
were  put  into  operation.  The  Military  Cabinet,  as  already 
mentioned,  placed  a number  of  spies  in  the  War  office, 
and  removed  the  Minister’s  foremost  co-workers  to  other 
parts  of  the  country.  Yet  Bronsart  would  neither  resign, 
nor  give  up  the  fight  for  the  code,  until,  finally,  late  in 
1896,  the  camarilla  hit  upon  an  infallible  plan  for  dislodg- 
ing him,  viz. : by  persuading  the  Emperor  to  order  Bronsart 
to  advocate  the  fortification  of  several  towns  on  the  Rus- 
sian frontier.  Furthermore,  His  Majesty  demanded  that  cer- 
tain funds,  reserved  for  other  purposes,  be  used  to  keep  the 
barracks  of  the  Neues  Palais  garrisoned  all  the  year  round, 
while  the  existing  appropriations  limit  the  stay  of  the  Lehr 
und  Wehr  Battalion  to  eight  months  only.  As  foreseen, 
Herr  von  Bronsart  refused  to  accept  responsibilities  of  that 
kind,  and  withdrew  with  flying  colors.  These  were  the  last 
words  exchanged  between  the  war-lord  and  the  Minister 
of  War,  Herr  von  Bronsart,  according  to  the  report  of  an 
ear-witness  in  whom  I place  the  utmost  confidence : 

‘‘And  if  I command,”  roared  the  Emperor, — “if  I 
command  you  to  advocate  those  fortifications  and  cause 
the  retention  of  the  battalion  at  my  palace  ? ’ ’ 


WILLIAM  11  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


269 


Your  Majesty’s  orders  will  neither  make  me  forget  my 
promises  to  the  Reichstag  to  oppose  frivolous  claims,  nor 
will  they  induce  me  to  misapply  funds  intrusted  to  my 
keeping.  ’ ’ 

^^Ah,  ah!”  scoffed  the  Kaiser,  who  had  grown  very 
pale,  ^^the  wind  is  blowing  from  that  quarter:  a soldier 
leaving  his  King  in  the  lurch ! Maybe  the  Minister  of 
War  has  more  such  traitorous  suggestions  for  His  Majesty. 
If  that  be  the  case,  out  with  them,  Herr!  ” 

Instead  of  answer,  Bronsart  bowed  stiffly,  and,  looking 
the  Kaiser  squarely  in  the  eye,  remarked,  with  great  de- 
liberation : I have  nothing  more  to  communicate  to  Your 
Majesty,  and  trust  that  sooner  or  later  you  will  recognize 
that  I did  my  duty  to-day  as  always.  My  portfolio,”  he 
added,  with  a side  glance  at  Herr  von  Hahnke,  ‘^is  at  His 
Excellency’s  disposal.” 


CHAPTER  XII 


Noon  at  the  Neues  Palais. 

Forty  hungry  women  and  girls,  some  old,  many  young 
and  comely,  hanging  about  the  back-stairs  of  what  is  in- 
tended for  the  most  magnificent  royal  Court  of  the  day ! 
Most  of  them  are  munching  black  bread,  scantily  spread 
with  lard,  while  from  tin  bottles  they  partake  of  long 
draughts  of  cold  chicory  masquerading  under  the  name 
of  coifee.  One  or  two  proudly  exhibit  a hunk  of  salt 
pork,  but  many  in  the  crowd  depend  entirely  upon  the 
charity  of  their  colleagues  or  the  good  nature  of  the 
liveried  servants,  which  latter  receive  either  full  board, 
or  eat  at  the  canteen,  established  in  connection  with  the 
MarstalL  And  these  women,  wearing  washed-out  calico 
dresses  all  the  year  round  and  a twenty-four  by  forty-inch 
shawl  barely  covering  their  heads  and  breasts  in  winter, 
are  imperial  and  royal  employees,  as  well  as  Her  Majesty’s 
natty  maids  and  the  porters  and  chasseurs  in  gold  and 
silver  laden  dress,  the  only  difference  being  that  the  maids 
and  flunkies  are  engaged  by  the  year,  while  the  women 
are  employed  by  the  month,  /.<?.,  during  the  residence  of 
the  Court  in  Potsdam. 

But  what  about  the  Biblical  crumbs  that  fall  from  the 
rich  man’s  table?  There  are  none.  The  allowances  for 
the  royal  board  are  cut  so  fine  as  to  just  suffice  for  their 
Majesties,  the  entourage,  and  the  guests;  and  when  the 
Kaiser  invites  extra  company  at  the  last  moment,  the 

271 


272 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


courses  are  hurried  to  cover  up  the  shortening  of  rations, 
and  frequently  some  of  the  visitors  are  ‘^skipped”  as  if 
by  accident.  Of  the  royal  guests,  many  leave  the  flower- 
strewn  table  as  hungry  as  the  scrub-girls  do  their  nooks 
and  corners  after  the  noon  recess. 

The  women  hail  from  Potsdam  or  the  surrounding 
villages,  and  work  in  the  castle  from  6 a.m.  to  6 or  8 
P.M.,  many  walking  an  hour  or  more  to  and  from  their 
destination.  They  are  employed  in  the  apartments  of 
the  adjutants,  of  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  Court, 
in  the  servants’  quarters,  and  in  the  kitchens,  at  cleaning 
and  scrubbing,  wood  and  water  carrying,  etc.,  but  our 
two -hundred-room  palace  affords  neither  a place  where 
they  may  cook  a scanty  meal  nor  a room  where  they 
can  eat  and  rest. 

‘^They  get  their  wages, — what  more  do  they  want?” 
answer  the  House-marshals,  when  we  ladies  pity  the  un- 
fortunates, and  we  have  to  subside  for  fear  that  those  we 
try  to  befriend  may  in  consequence  lose  their  livelihood — 
such  as  it  is— under  the  protecting  wing  of  the  imperial 
eagle. 

‘‘They  have  their  wages,”— two  marks,  fifty  cents, 
per  day  for  twelve  or  fourteen  hours’  work,  and  even  in 
the  coldest  winter— the  Court  seldom  removes  to  Berlin 
before  Christmas — cannot  get  a cup  of  coffee  or  a plate 
of  soup  from  the  crowned  master,  though  it  is  self-evident 
that  none  of  the  women  have  time  to  go  home  for  dinner 
during  recess. 

A person  of  my  rank  runs  against  this  class  of  servants 
on  rare  occasions  only;  but  accident  leads  me  into  the 
lower  regions  of  the  palace  once  in  a while,  and  it  gives 
me  a shock  every  time  to  see  these  Pariahs  of  our  splendid 
Court  fighting  hunger  and  cold  with  food  devoid  of  warmth, 
behind  doors  and  staircases  where  the  wind  whistles  the 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


273 


international  anthem  of  poverty.  After  witnessing  their 
distress  and  hearing  their  complaints  once,  I never  went 
into  the  souterrain  without  issuing  an  order  on  the  canteen 
for  so  and  so  many  pea  or  lentil  soups.  The  gratitude  of 
these  women  is  heart-rending ; but  those  in  authority,  I 
found,  would  rather  listen  to  their  friends’  whisperings : 
“increase  our  fortune,”  than  to  the  cry  from  below: 
“solace  our  misery,”  as  Maria  Leczinski  said.  Such  ex- 
cuses as:  “There  is  no  money  for  that,”  “Speak  to  my 
colleague  of  this  or  that  branch  in  the  service, — my  cash- 
drawer  is  empty,”  or,  “If  I signed  a voucher  for  a semi- 
charitable  object,  the  Minister”  (of  the  royal  house) 
“would  impeach  my  administration  at  once,”  are  heard  in 
the  palace  on  all  sides.  Even  when,  the  women  having 
made  me  their  advocate,  I asked  that  they  be  paid  weekly, 
as  the  law  provides,  instead  of  three  days  after  the  first  of 
the  month  as  customary,  this  “boon”  was  denied  on  the 
plea  that  it  would  upset  a practice  of  long  standing. 

And  this  happens  in  Prussia,  where  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  contributes  on  an  average  twenty  cents  per  year 
toward  the  civil  list,^  a fact  of  which  we  were  unexpectedly 
reminded  by  a group  of  workmen  engaged  in  the  Berlin 
Schloss  in  the  winter  of  1895,  when,  as  told  in  a previous 
chapter,  the  great  Court  festivities  had  been  suddenly  called 
off.  The  Kaiser  gave  orders,  at  the  time,  to  send  the  pro- 
visions from  the  cold  buffets  to  the  hospitals ; but  just  then 
the  House-marshal  found  it  inconvenient  to  feed  the  small 
army  of  workmen  engaged  in  the  castle,  and  so  directed 
that  the  delicacies  be  turned  over  to  them  in  place  of  the 


^ Englishmen  contribute  seven  and  a half  cents,  Russians  four  and  a 
quarter  cents,  and  Austrians  eight  and  a quarter  cents.  Frenchmen 
pay  a little  over  one-half  cent,  Americans  one-third  of  a pfennig  (four 
pfennigs  make  one  cent),  toward  the  salary  of  their  Presidents. 


274 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


regulation  dinner  of  meat,  vegetables,  and  potatoes.  When 
the  horny-handed  sons  of  toil  first  made  the  acquaintance 
of  anchovy  paste,  salmon,  caviare,  potted  turkey,  imported 
cheeses  and  the  like,  they  were  overjoyed ; but  the  aristo- 
cratic menu  palled  on  them  after  a few  days,  and  while 
vociferating  for  the  homely  potato,  they  roundly  abused 
the  luxuries  “for  which  they  paid  exorbitant  taxes.”  The 
stewards,  who  gave  out  the  food,  were  scoffed  at  and  in- 
sulted as  “dudes,”  and  when  Herr  von  Lyncker  tried  to 
remonstrate  with  the  men,  they  threatened  to  send  one 
of  their  dinners  into  the  Socialist  camp  of  the  Reichstag. 
So  the  House-marshal  had  to  dive  into  his  pocket  and  rein- 
state the  old  bill  of  fare,  while  the  hospitals  received  the 
beaux  restes  of  the  demolished  buffets. 

Scenes  and  incidents  of  this  description,  far  from  being 
exceptional,  are  of  such  frequent  occurrence  at  the  Court 
of  the  German  Emperor,  that  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of 
the  service  have  long  ceased  to  notice  them. 

“But  how  is  it  possible?”  asks  the  reader  whose  “ States- 
man’s Year-Book”  tells  him  that  the  Emperor  has  an 
income  of  nearly  sixteen  millions  of  marks,  or  about  four 
million  dollars  per  year,  and  who  remembers,  perchance, 
William’s  boastful  speech  in  which  he  said  he  was  the 
biggest  land-owner  in  the  Empire. 

Whether  the  latter  assertion  is  true  I cannot  say,  but  the 
sixteen  millions  are  a chiming  reality  and  unencumbered, 
save  for  the  obligation  to  pay  five  appanages  of  fifteen  thou- 
sand dollars  each  per  annum  to  Prussian  Princes.  That 
leaves  William  about  three  million  nine  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  a year  to  “bless  himself  with,”  besides  his 
private  income  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  marks 
(thirty-seven  thousand  five  hundred  dollars)  per  month. 

These  thirty-seven  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  form 
the  nucleus  of  His  Majesty’s  privy  purse,  and  are  always 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


275 


spoken  for  three  months  in  advance  for  his  uniform  and 
toilet  accounts,  his  private  journeys,  and  amusements.  The 
civil  list  discharges  the  cost  of  representation,  the  needs 
of  Her  Majesty  and  the  children,  all  the  expenses  of  the 
household,  and  provides  funds  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  royal  theatres,  palaces,  and  gardens.  Out  of  a much 
smaller  official  income,  William  I saved  an  immense  for- 
tune, though  he  kept  up  a separate  Court  for  his  Queen 
for  thirty  years,  and,  for  a Prussian,  was  exceedingly  liberal 
toward  ladies  that  engaged  his  fancy.  The  present  Kaiser 
winds  up  year  after  year  with  a tremendous  deficit,  and 
his  Court,  outwardly  splendid  and  richly  endowed,  is  more 
penurious  than  that  of  the  meanest  Prince  of  the  Empire. 
Indeed,  my  maid  assures  me  that  at  Biickeburg,  where  the 
monarch  receives  only  as  many  marks  as  the  President 
of  the  United  States  gets  dollars  per  year,  the  grooms 
are  better  fed  and  lodged  than  the  under-stewards  in 
Potsdam.  The  reason  for  this  is  obvious  enough : the 
Kaiser  has  no  conception  whatever  of  the  value  of  money, 
and  orders  for  himself  anything  that  pleases  him,  what 
he  sees  and  reads  about,  without  paying  the  least  heed 
to  the  pecuniary  consequences.  If  he  desires  an  article, 
it  must  be  procured,  whether  there  be  money  in  the 
drawer  or  not,  and  in  the  quickest  possible  manner  too. 
With  the  Empress  things  are  much  the  same,  though 
Her  Majesty  will  sometimes  listen  to  reason  when  the 
Court  or  House  marshals  plead  poverty  on  account  of 
imperial  raids  on  their  treasuries.  The  entire  civil  list 
is  kept  at  the  disposal  of  these  two  august  personages, 
and  all  the  members  of  the  royal  household,  as  well  as 
purveyors,  servants,  laborers,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  scrub- 
women, suffer  in  consequence, — a state  of  affairs  that  leads 
to  constant  friction  among  the  Court  officials,  enforces 
a most  niggardly  and  disgraceful  general  regimen,  and 


276 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


discredits  the  Kaiser’s  name  with  merchants  and  every- 
body else  having  business  with  the  Court. 

I had  noticed  for  some  time  that  a certain  dealer  in 
flowers,  a Hojiieferant  of  Unter  den  Linden^  served  me  with 
excessive  zeal,  though  my  purchases  were  not  extensive  by 
any  means.  My  carriage  no  sooner  stopped  at  his  door, 
when  this  man  rushed  out  bowing  and  scraping,  and  add- 
ing to  my  titles  some  I never  dare  hope  to  acquire.  I also 
observed  that  he  charged  me  less  than  the  prices  marked. 
So  one  day  I asked  him  the  reason.  ‘‘Your  Ladyship 
belongs  to  the  Court.” 

“But,”  I said,  “others  do,  and  I have  seen  the  carriage 

of  my  colleague,  Madame  the  Countess  von  B , halt  a 

considerable  time  in  front  of  your  store  before  one  of  the 
employees  came  to  ask  her  pleasure.” 

^‘Gnddige  Grdfiii,''  said  the  florist,  “if  I may  say  so, 
you  belong  to  the  Court  and  pay  cash.  For  that  reason  I 
would  rather  sell  you  a three-mark  bouquet  than  a fifty- 
mark  flower-piece  to  the  lady  you  mention  or”  (and  he 
lowered  his  voice)  “to  even  the  Emperor  or  Empress.  I 
am  a well-to-do  man,  thank  the  Lord ; but  when  it  comes 
to  waiting  a year  and  a half  before  one’s  bills  are  paid 
by  the  royal  treasury,  I feel  like  cursing  my  appointment. 
And  the  worst  of  it  is,  the  all-highest  example  is  followed 
by  almost  everybody  connected  with  the  Court.” 

But  nothing  illustrates  the  unsettled  state  of  the  royal 
finances  more  thoroughly  than  the  fact  that  Her  Majesty 
has  no  certain  income  of  her  own.  Her  Court-marshal  is 
obliged  to  fight  for  every  Thaler  required  beyond  the  ordi- 
nary pay  of  servants  and  help,  with  the  Kaiser’s  Court  and 
House  marshals,  who  often  refuse  to  grant  necessary  funds 
until  Her  Majesty’s  express  commands  compel  them  to 
honor  the  disputed  bills.  A rather  amusing  incident  of 
that  sort  happened  a few  months  after  the  enthronization. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


277 


when  my  mistress  ordered  me  to  buy  a little  bed,  together 
with  the  necessary  clothes,  for  Prince  Oscar  (born  July  27 
that  year).  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  find  at  Mosse 
Brothers,  Jaeger  Strasse,  the  exact  article  Her  Majesty 
wanted,  and  when  the  bed  was  sent  up  she  was  greatly 
pleased.  ‘‘We  will  keep  it  right  here,”  she  said,  “and, 
that  there  may  be  no  misunderstanding,  bring  the  bill  to 
Herr  von  Lyncker  and  order  it  paid  immediately.” 

“And  since  when  are  ladies  of  the  Court  authorized  to 
make  purchases  without  previous  estimate  by  this  office?” 
asked  the  Baron,  after  listening  to  my  request. 

“ I don’t  know,”  I answered,  sharply,  “and,  besides,  I 
have  not  come  here  to  answer  riddles.” 

“Then,”  said  the  House-marshal,  icily,  “accept  my 
compliments,  together  with  the  information  that  this  bill 
is  irregular,  extravagant,  and  unnecessary;  hence  it  will 
not  be  paid.  The  baby  can  sleep  in  his  cradle  six  months 
longer,  and  by  that  time  we  shall  be  able  to  buy  him  a bed 
in  the  regular  way.  ’ ’ 

“Then  it  is  your  pleasure  that  the  little  Prince  be  taken 
out  of  the  new  bed  and  put  back  into  the  cradle  ? ” ♦ 

“It  will  do  him  no  harm,  and  give  me  much  satisfac- 
tion.” 

Of  course,  I reported  the  case  to  Her  Majesty  word  for 
word,  and  such  a hubbub  as  ensued  you  would  deem  im- 
possible in  the  highest  walks  of  life.  At  first.  Her  Majesty 
intended  to  personally  give  Herr  von  Lyncker  a piece  of 
her  mind,  but  that  plan  was  discarded  as  doing  too  much 
honor  to  the  official ; then  the  grand-mistress.  Countess 
Brockdorff,  was  ordered  to  write  him  a letter,  demand- 
ing payment  of  the  bill,  and  upon  his  reiterated  refusal 
the  information  was  sprung  upon  him  that  he  had  been 
making  war  upon  the  Empress  herself,  instead  of  her  ladies, 
as  he  thought.  Of  course,  that  altered  the  case.  Baron 


278 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


Lyncker’s  drawer  was  all  at  once  alive  with  crisp  blue  bills, 
and  there  was  no  higher  pleasure  for  him  in  the  wide,  wide 
world  than  to  discharge  obligations  for  the  ‘‘all-highest 
children.”  As  to  his  remarks  that  the  cradle  was  good 
enough  for  the  baby,  they  were  mere  pleasantries,  and  he 
was  “amazed  that  Her  Ladyship  should  have  taken  them 
for  anything  else,”  etc.  But  the  above  is  really  a very 
extravagant  example  of  the  difficulties  of  our  household 
exchequer.  We  have  experienced  even  more  fuss  about 
such  items  as  ink  or  sealing-wax  for  Her  Majesty’s  writing- 
table  and  paper  for  the  linen-presses. 

At  the  one  memorable  visit  Her  Majesty  paid  to  her 
linen-presses  (she  has  been  heralded  as  an  exemplary  house- 
wife ever  since)  the  Kaiserin  observed  that  the  linen  was 
deposited  on  the  bare  shelves,  and  asked  Fraulein  Kubou 
what  it  meant. 

“May  it  please  Your  Majesty,”  courtesied  the  keeper, 
who  was  probably  eager  to  get  even  with  her  superior,  “ I 
have  repeatedly  asked  for  paper,  but  Count  Buckler  says  he 
has  no  funds  for  such  luxuries.  ’ ’ 

“ Luxuries,”  repeated  the  Kaiserin,  “luxuries  where  my 
body-linen  lies!”  and  turning  to  Madame  von  Larisch, 
Superintendent  of  the  Royal  Household,  she  said:  “See 
to  it  that  paper  of  the  very  best  quality  is  purchased  this 
very  Hour,  and  if  the  House-marshal  interferes,  advise  me.” 

Armed  with  this  all-highest  authority.  Baroness  von 
Larisch  bought  several  marks’  worth  of  blue  paper,  and 
sent  them  to  Fraulein  Kubou,  but  the  servant  returned 
with  the  astonishing  information  that  the  woman  dared 
not  accept  the  material,  as  the  stamp  of  the  chief  Court- 
marshal’s  office  was  lacking.  “Nonsense,”  said  the  dame 
of  the  household  to  the  servant ; “tell  the  keeper  I com- 
mand her  to  place  the  paper  in  the  presses  at  once  and  have 
no  more  words  about  it.”  Five  minutes  later,  Fraulein 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  279 

Kiibou  came  in  person.  ^‘Madame/’  she  cried,  ‘‘I  am 
the  sole  support  of  a family ; do  not  ruin  me  ! If  the 
grand-master  learns  that  I am  concerned  in  this  business 
of  running  up  bills  for  which  there  is  no  appropriation,  I 
shall  be  discharged  on  the  spot.” 

The  Baroness  is  a tenacious  woman.  “ Come  with  me,” 
she  said,  ‘‘  and  I will  put  the  paper  in  myself.  At  the 
same  time  you  shall  send  a report  in  writing  to  the  House- 
marshal  setting  forth  what  I have  done,  and  I will  acknowl- 
edge that  I acted  despite  your  protest.” 

The  letter  went,  and  a veritable  Rattenkonig'^  of  corre- 
spondence ensued. 

His  Excellency,  the  Grand-master,  to  Her  Ladyship,  the 
Dame  of  the  Royal  Household:  ‘‘I  have  the  honor  to 
inform  you  that  you  overstepped  your  authority,  and  that 
you  will  be  held  responsible  with  your  salary  for  the  unau- 
thorized expenses  incurred.” 

Her  Ladyship  to  the  Grand-master:  Nothing  of  the 
sort.  I acted  upon  Her  Majesty’s  express  orders,  as  you 
may  learn  by  inquiries  of  my  august  mistress.  ’ ’ 

The  Grand-master  to  the  House-marshal:  ‘^You  must 
pay  this  paper  bill — two  marks,  fifty  pfennigs — which  Her 
Majesty  has  ordered.” 

The  House-marshal  to  the  Keeper  of  the  Linen  : ^^This 
paper  bill  must  be  paid  out  of  the  appropriation  for  your 
department  as  soon  as  there  is  a surplus.” 

The  Keeper  of  the  Linen  to  the  House-marshal : Sorry 
I have  not  got  a pfennig.  The  use  of  clean  linen  has  again 


^ This  is  an  untranslatable  term.  Literally,  it  means  “ king  of  rats,” 
which  name  applies  to  a flock  of  rodents  grown  together  by  the  tails; 
they  are  sometimes  found  in  the  sewers  of  German  cities.  A Rat- 
tenkonig,  when  discovered,  tries  to  get  away  in  all  directions.  The 
simile,  therefore,  means  something  many-sided  and  heterogeneous, 
starting  from  a common  source. 


28o 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


increased,  His  Majesty  having  been  pleased  to  sleep  in  his 
own  room  several  times  of  late,  which  means  twelve  extra 
sheets,  according  to  the  last  accounting." 

The  House-marshal  to  Baron  von  Mirbach,  Chief  Court- 
marshal  of  Her  Majesty:  “Will  you  oblige  this  office  by 
paying  the  enclosed  bill,  which  Her  Majesty  herself  audited? 
We  have  no  appropriations  for  such  extras." 

Baron  von  Mirbach  to  Baron  von  Lyncker  (privately) : 
“You  ask  me  to  create  a dangerous  precedent,  mon  cher. 
I answer  : ‘ No,  thanks  ! Not  in  the  la  main.'  " ^ 

The  House-marshal  to  Privy-Councillor  Miessner,  Keeper 
of  the  Privy  Purse  {Schatulle)  : “There  are  no  appropria- 
tions out  of  which  the  enclosed  bill  can  be  paid,  and  no 
surplus  funds  in  any  of  the  departments.  You  will  there- 
fore report  the  case  to  His  Majesty,  and  get  his  all-highest 
authorization  for  payment.  As  the  enclosures  show.  Her 
Majesty  herself  graciously  ordered  the  purchase  of  the 
material.  ’ ’ 

Eight  sheets  of  foolscap  paper,  emblazoned  with  crests 
and  garnished  with  stamps  and  the  most  illegible  signa- 
tures, and  crammed  with  officious  language  in  lapidary 
style, — all  about  sixty-two  cents  and  a half!  Of  course, 
there  would  have  been  just  as  much  fuss  if  the  object  had 
been  the  fraction  of  a cent. 

That  the  contents  of  the  linen-presses  are  entirely  un- 
equal to  the  demands  has  already  been  mentioned.  So  it 
happened  that,  in  the  winter  of  1893,  Frau  Heiner,  then  in 
charge  of  the  Princes,  sent  to  Fraulein  Kubou  for  six  small 
spreads,  explaining  that  the  children  were  now  too  old  to 
take  afternoon  naps,  and  that  she  wanted  spreads  to  cover 
their  beds  in  day-time  “so  that  they  look  decent  when 
anybody  comes  to  inspect  the  nursery."  Fraulein  Kubou 


^ French  mot^  en  vogue  in  Berlin. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


281 


looked  over  her  list  once,  twice,  three  times;  she  had 
spreads  for  their  Majesties,  for  the  imperial  and  royal 
guests’  chambers,  spreads  for  the  retinue  and  spreads  for 
ordinary  guests,  but  none  for  Royal  Highnesses.  ‘^Old 
Heiner”  was  so  informed.  “All  right,”  thought  the  head 
nurse;  “if  there  are  none,  it  is  about  time  we  had  some,” 
and  she  despatched  a girl  to  Berlin  with  orders  to  request 
the  royal  purveyor,  Metzner,  in  Mohren  Strasse,  to  send  a 
consignment  of  such  goods  to  the  palace.  Selecting  a 
medium-priced  pattern,  the  old  woman  ordered  a dozen, 
one-half  of  which  were  placed  in  use,  while  the  rest  was 
sent  to  the  linen  department.  Then  the  comedy  called 
forth  by  the  paper  purchase  was  re-inaugurated.  The 
spreads  came  back  to  Frau  Heiner  with  lightning  prompti- 
tude, and  the  old  woman  was  almost  willing  to  keep  them, 
when  Her  Majesty’s  Kammerdiener  told  her  that  in  that 
case  the  nursery  would  have  to  pay  for  the  laundrying. 

Now  “ Old  Heiner  ” resembles  in  many  respects  the  wet- 
nurse  of  the  baby  afterward  known  as  George  III,  who, 
when  a Court-marshal  forbade  her  taking  the  child  to  bed 
with  her,  placed  little  George  in  his  arms  with  the  words : 
“ Perhaps  Your  Worship  would  like  to  suckle  the  boy  your- 
self.” 

“Nay,  nay,”  cried  Heiner,  “my  money  is  for  feeding 
the  youngsters;  I have  none  to  help  out  the  Court-mar- 
shal.” Then  she  took  the  spreads,  deposited  them  in 
Fraulein  Kubou’s  lap,  and  went  straightway  to  the  Court- 
marshal’s  office,  where,  arms  akimbo,  she  declared,  in  a few 
well-set  words,  that  it  was  her  duty  to  buy  said  bedspreads, 
that  she  was  now  sorry  she  had  not  purchased  twice  as 
many  as  she  did,  that  she  would  keep  what  she  had,  would 
give  no  houseroom  to  the  rest,  and  would  pay  no  laundry 
bills.  This  declaration  was  delivered  with  such  emphasis, 
and  “Old  Heiner’s”  influence  with  the  Empress  was  sq 


282 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


well  established,  that  Count  Eulenburg  got  scared  and 
promised  to  take  care  of  the  bill,  which,  like  the  one 
aforementioned,  travelled  for  weeks  from  department  to 
department  before  a settlement  could  be  secured. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  “the  difficulties  of  the 
exchequer'’  occasionally  interfere  with  the  Kaiser  and 
Kaiserin’s  predilection  for  cleanliness, — I recall  the  fact 
that  their  Majesties  are  sometimes  unable  to  obtain  clean 
sheets  for  their  bed, — the  statement  that  the  royal  servants, 
men  and  women,  are  kept  exceedingly  short  in  respect  to 
towels  and  bedclothes  will  surprise  no  one.  As  a matter 
of  fact,  the  allowance  for  the  first-named  article  is  two  per 
week  ; the  bed-linen  is  changed  every  month.  And  at  the 
same  time  the  liveried  retainers  are  supposed  to  be  para- 
gons of  cleanliness ! 

One  evening,  when  we  were  talking  in  Her  Majesty’s 
dressing-room  of  the  vagaries  of  Prince  Frederick  Leo- 
pold, the  Countess  Bassewitz  remarked  that  His  Royal 
Highness  compelled  his  valets  and  the  chasseur,  which 
latter  serves  him  at  table,  to  bathe  two  or  three  times  a 
day,  morning,  noon,  and  night ; that  is,  always  before  they 
come  into  personal  contact  with  him. 

“That  is  extravagant,’’  said  Her  Majesty;  “but  persons 
of  our  rank  cannot  insist  too  strongly  upon  the  daily  bath 
for  their  attendants.” 

“If  there  are  enough  bath-rooms!  ” I could  not  resist 
the  temptation  to  throw  out  this  hint. 

“Well,”  said  the  Kaiserin,  “I  suppose  there  is  a sufficient 
number  in  our  palaces,  at  least  here  and  in  the  Schloss.” 

“I  beg  Your  Majesty’s  pardon,”  I spoke  up;  “here,  as 
well  as  in  Berlin,  we  have  but  two  bath-rooms  for  serv- 
ants,— one  for  the  men,  one  for  the  women.” 

The  Empress  gave  me  a startled  look.  “Two  bath- 
rooms?” she  gasped, 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


283 


'*T-w-o,”  I repeated;  ‘^and  not  only  the  people  of 
the  body-service,  but  all  the  liveried  and  uniformed  men 
and  women  in  the  palace — coachmen,  fourriers,  chasseurs, 
and  heads  of  the  household  departments — are  expected  to 
use  them.” 

^^Mdn  Liebcy'  said  the  Empress,  in  her  haughtiest  tone, 
*^you  are  evidently  misinformed,”  and,  rising  from  the 
arm-chair,  she  shook  off  her  dressing  sacque  with  a little 
shudder,  as  if  to  repel  an  unclean  sensation.  “I  do  so 
hate  to  speak  of  matters  of  that  kind,”  she  added,  dis- 
missing us  with  a curt  bow. 

What  would  Her  Majesty  have  thought  if  I had  con- 
tinued in  my  revelations,  gathered  at  random  during  my 
long  connection  with  the  household,  for  the  scarcity  of 
bath-rooms  is  not  the  most  disgraceful  evidence  of  penury 
at  the  Prussian  Court,  by  far.  The  two  eighteen  by  thirty- 
six  inch  huckaback  towels  given  out  every  Saturday  must 
suffice  for  the  casual  bath  as  well  as  for  the  every-day 
ablutions.  The  servants’  wash-bowls  are  little  tin  affairs, 
holding  less  than  three  pints;  foot-tubs  and  pitchers  are 
tabooed,  together  with  other  conveniences.  But  that  is 
not  all.  The  toilets  for  the  servants  are  located  on  the 
back-stair  landings,  which  are  lighted  by  kerosene  lamps 
day  and  night,  and  one  closet  must  do  for  every  twenty-six 
persons.  If  the  palace  is  ever  visited  by  an  epidemic,  the 
air  will  be  laden  with  I-told-you-so’s  ” in  high  and  low 
quarters. 

A command  of  the  Emperor  or  the  Empress  alone  can 
change  this  disgraceful  state  of  affairs.  When  a courtier 
draws  the  attention  of  those  in  authority  to  the  matter, 
it  is  but  to  hear  the  old  refrain:  ^‘No  money,”  ‘^All  the 
department  treasuries  are  empty.”  What,  then,  becomes 
of  the  fifteen  millions  and  a half  which  the  Kaiser  re- 
serves per  annum  for  the  maintenance  of  himself  and 


284 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


family  ? So  far  as  the  money  is  not  mortgaged  beforehand 
or  absorbed  by  the  expenses  for  travelling,  entertaining, 
Her  Majesty’s  toilets,  the  building  craze  and  other  crazes, 
the  expenses  of  the  Court  or  Courts  swallow  them.  The 
Berlin  Schloss,  you  must  know,  is  always  kept  ready  for 
immediate  occupancy,  all  servants  being  at  their  posts  and 
all  fires  lit.  See  the  ogre  that  devoured  twenty-five  mil- 
lions! ” were  the  damnatory  words  hurled  at  Marie  Antoi- 
nette and  her  fat  husband  as  the  royal  chariot  rolled  into 
Paris  on  October  6,  1789,  ‘‘escorted  by  hunger  and  ras- 
cality. ’ ’ 

Twenty-five  millions ! — fuel  for  the  revolution  of  the  end 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  not  a patch  on  the  expenses 
of  the  German  Court  of  to-day  I Since  William  II  came 
to  the  throne,  the  Prussian  people  have  paid  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  millions  of  marks  into  the  civil  list,  and 
of  these,  one  hundred  millions  were  expended  to  keep  up 
the  pageant  of  superficial  splendor  that  goes  to  make  the 
Court.  For  one  thing,  the  salary  list  is  enormous,  not  on 
account  of  many-noughted  items  as  much  as  because  of 
its  prodigious  length.  There  are,  altogether,  some  fifteen 
hundred  persons  on  it,  fully  two-thirds  of  whom  have  to 
be  clothed  and  fed,  as  well  as  paid.  The  great  officials  are 
not  provided  with  uniforms  or  dress,  it  is  true,  but  receive 
very  considerable  allowances  for  that  purpose,  and  also 
table-money,  if  for  some  reason  or  other  they  are  not  in- 
vited to  or  stay  away  from  the  meals.  All  the  employees, 
moreover,  are  entitled  to  mileage  and  board  fees  if  taken 
on  a junketing.  To  illustrate,  I append  the  remuneration 
of  some  of  the  high  officials,  and  of  their  Majesties’  body- 
attendants. 

The  grand-masters  of  both  Kaiser  and  Kaiserin  and  the 
several  House-marshals  receive  thirty  thousand  marks  per 
year  salary,  live  in  royal  villas  rent  free,  and  carriages  and 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


285 


horses  for  themselves  and  family  are  at  their  disposal  for 
private  and  official  use.  The  Court,  besides,  furnishes 
their  households  with  two  servants,  wearing  the  imperial 
delivery,  and  as  many  house-maids.  Their  mileage  equals 
that  of  a commanding  general,  and  as  travelling  fees  they 
receive  thirty  marks  per  day.  When  their  Excellencies 
want  to  eat  at  home  or  dine  out,  they  need  but  notify  the 
chef  in  order  to  be  entitled  to  another  fifteen  marks  per 
day. 

Her  Majesty’s  grand-mistress,  the  Countess  Brockdorff, 
having  no  household  of  her  own,  occupies  a splendid 
apartment  in  the  royal  residence,  and  receives  the  same 
salary,  mileage,  and  travelling  fees  as  the  gentlemen  above 
mentioned,  while  two  lackeys  and  carriages  galore  are 
subject  to  her  orders.  The  Kaiser  even  pays  mileage  for 
her  maid,  though  the  girl  denies  ever  having  received  a 
pfennig  of  it.  As  to  Her  Excellency,  they  say  she  is  as 
sharp  after  perquisites  as  the  devil  is  after  the  souls  of  poor 
sinners,  and  a month  seldom  passes  that  she  does  not  hand 
in  a bill  for  so  and  so  many  meals  missed. 

There  is  an  idea  abroad  that  dames  of  the  Court  endure 
the  caprices  of  their  august  mistress  and  the  monotony  of 
life  in  the  gilded  cage  out  of  sheer  devotion  to  royalty,  or 
on  account  of  the  distinction  it  confers  upon  the  appointee ; 
but  this,  I am  happy  to  say  for  my  own  sake,  is  not  true. 
We  receive  a salary  of  six  thousand  marks  per  annum,  have 
royal  lackeys  and  maids  and  carriages,  as  well  as  board 
and  lodging,  and  travelling  fees  amounting  to  twenty- 
seven  marks  per  day.  The  adjutants  are  paid  by  the 
state  and  Empire,  but  receive  mileage  and  travelling  fees, 
uniform,  table,  and  livery  moneys,  out  of  the  Kaiser’s 
pocket. 

The  Emperor’s  valets  receive  between  one  hundred  and 
forty  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  marks  salary  per  month. 


286 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


besides  board  and  lodging,  and  either  liveries  or  remunera- 
tion for  dress-suits,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  servants  and  offi- 
cials hereafter  named.  To  the  married  men,  lodgings  for 
their  families  in  royal  houses  are  assigned.  The  wardrobe- 
men’s  salaries  vary  between  eighty  and  one  hundred  marks 
per  month,  according  to  the  age  of  servitude.  Ebeling, 
the  Kaiser’s  body-groom,  has  one  hundred  and  ten  marks, 
Herr  Rieger,  his  picturesque  gun-charger,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  marks  per  month,  and  the  other  chasseurs  and 
stable  officials  receive  from  one  hundred  and  twenty  to 
one  hundred  and  thirty. 

Her  Majesty’s  body-service  includes  Fraulein  von  Haake, 
woman  of  the  bed-chamber,  salary  one  hundred  and  fifty 
marks  per  month;  two  wardrobe-women,  salary  eighty- 
five  to  ninety-five  marks  per  month;  two  wardrobe  man- 
servants,  salary  one  hundred  marks  and  seventy-five  marks, 
respectively,  per  month;  the  caretaker  of  the  royal  bed, 
Frau  Louise  Schade,  has  forty-five  marks  per  month,  be- 
sides board  and  lodging,  and  thirty  marks  per  month  for 
her  dresses.  Her  Majesty’s  two  seamstresses,  engaged  all 
the  year  round,  receive  two  marks  per  day  and  board  and 
lodging. 

The  Kaiserin  employs  three  valets,  whose  senior,  Herr 
Nolte,  served  under  the  late  Empress  Augusta.  He  is  a 
Catholic,  and  was  chiefly  retained  to  give  the  lie  to  the 
story  that  he,  together  with  others  in  her  service,  had  per- 
suaded her  late  Majesty  to  embrace  the  Roman  faith.  He 
receives  one  hundred  and  fifty  marks  per  month.  His  two 
colleagues  have  twenty  marks  less.  Her  Majesty’s  five 
footmen  {Ka^yimerlackaien ) have  one  hundred  and  twenty 
marks  per  month ; her  body-coachman,  Polte,  receives  one 
hundred  and  thirty  marks,  and  her  body  riding-master  two 
hundred  marks.  The  Kammerjdger^  who  wait  at  table, 
have  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  marks 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  287 

per  month,  besides  lodging,  and  the  fourriers^  or  under- 
stewards, receive  as  much. 

The  above-mentioned  functionaries,  all  of  them  body- 
servants,  comprise  only  an  infinitesimal  part  of  the  total 
number  employed  (to  illustrate  how  many  there  are,  I need 
but  say  that  the  Court-marshal’s  office  has  sixty  different 
kinds  of  employees  on  its  staff),  but  the  amount  of  their 
salaries  conveys  a correct  idea  of  the  wages  paid  at  the 
Prussian  Court.  They  are  not  large  compared  with  Ameri- 
can and  English  wages,  but,  considering  the  number  of 
individuals  on  the  list,  sum  up  a staggering  total,  inclu- 
sive of  mileage  and  other  travelling  fees.  I forgot  to 
mention  that  Her  Majesty  employs  twelve  chambermaids 
for  her  own  use,  all  of  them  trim,  sturdy  girls.  They  re- 
ceive thirty  marks  per  month  in  wages  and  twenty  marks 
for  dress,  besides  board  and  lodging,  of  course.  The  cost 
of  the  clothes  of  the  men-servants  and  uniformed  officials 
exceeds,  I am  told,  that  of  their  keep,  which  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  as  their  dress,  black  and  silver  interlaced  with 
red,  white  ties,  stockings  and  pumps,  is  kept  up  to  the 
highest  standard.  Indeed,  the  men  always  look  as  if  they 
had  just  emerged  from  Herr  Rust’s  shop.  Rust  is  the 
royal  employee  under  whose  discriminating  eye  the  differ- 
ent styles  of  livery  are  manufactured. 

The  salaries  of  all  servants  receiving  board-wages  are  paid 
in  advance  on  the  third  of  each  month ; but  as  the  thirty 
or  forty-five  marks  allowed  in  lieu  of  board  are  disbursed 
post-numerando^  the  men  and  women  live  always  ahead  of 
their  income,  a condition  not  conducive  to  thrift,  espe- 
cially where  husband  and  wife  live  separate  the  greater 
part  of  the  year,  the  first  changing  his  residence  with  that 
of  the  Court  from  time  to  time,  the  latter  remaining  in  one 
of  the  houses  belonging  to  the  crown,  either  in  Potsdam  or 
Berlin.  Every  once  in  a while  discontent  arises  on  that 


288 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


account,  and  a change  of  pay-day  is  as  often  promised,  but 
the  old  order  of  things  is  continued,  nevertheless,  on  the 
plea  of  poverty. 

Yes,  poverty,  downright  close-fisted  want  of  money ! 
That  their  Majesties  must  not  be  made  to  feel  it  goes  with- 
out saying,  and  as  the  administrators  of  the  household 
refuse  to  bridle  their  own,  their  colleagues’,  and  the  titled 
entourage  s appetite  for  emoluments,  the  grind  begins  down- 
stairs. 

Once,  during  a summer  when  we  were  staying  in  Wil- 
helmshohe,  I happened  to  ask  my  coachman,  an  employee 
of  the  royal  house,  how  he  liked  the  change  from  sandy 
Brandenburg  to  the  beautiful  Hesse  country. 

^‘At  Your  Ladyship’s  orders,”  he  answered,  promptly, 
would  like  it  still  better  if  the  mountain  air  did  not 
make  one  so  confoundedly  hungry.” 

‘‘Why,  Peter,”  I said,  “you  have  your  regular  fees,  and 
a man  like  you  ought  to  be  able  to  live  here  very  comfort- 
ably on  three  marks  a day.  ’ ’ 

“I  could,  if  I got  it;  but  we  have  been  cut  down  to 
half  that  amount  ever  since  last  winter.  First  it  was  given 
out  that  there  was  no  money  available,  afterward  we  were 
told  the  three  marks  board-wages,  formerly  paid  on  all 
journeys,  would  be  allowed  only  when  the  Court  visited 
foreign  countries.  So,  instead  of  saving  a little  when 
travelling,  we  servants  are  obliged  to  spend  part  of  our 
salary  to  help  out  the  board-wages.  ’ ’ 

I assure  you  I felt  a little  ashamed  when,  next  month,  I 
received  the  full  amount  of  my  fees  at  the  rate  of  twenty- 
seven  marks  per  day.  The  Court-marshal’s  office,  that  cut 
the  flunky’s  meagre  stipend  in  two,  made  no  attempt  to 
discriminate  between  inland  voyages  and  journeys  abroad 
in  the  case  of  the  highly-paid  and  ornamental  function- 
aries ! 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  289 

“Shirking  responsibilities  toward  servants  is  mighty  small 
business,”  said  a high  official  of  the  Empress  Frederick’s 
Court,  who  visited  us  about  that  time  on  behalf  of  Her  Maj- 
esty; “but  what  do  you  think  of  an  Emperor  who  forces 
his  servants  to  advance  him  money,  and  quite  considerable 
sums  at  that  ? ’ ’ And  His  Excellency  went  on  to  explain 
that  Prussian  fourriers  and  other  servants,  men  and  women, 
when  despatched  to  other  cities  by  the  Court-marshals, 
must  pay  for  their  transportation  out  of  their  own  pockets. 
“Neither  do  they  receive  money  for  expenses,”  he  said. 

“ But  how  do  you  know  this?  ” I inquired. 

“From  Count  Eulenburg  himself.  He  sent  four  women 
from  Berlin  to  Homburg  to  prepare  the  old  Schloss  for  a 
visit  of  the  Emperor, — one  with  the  linen,  another  to 
take  care  of  the  silver,  the  rest  to  put  the  rooms  in 
order.  They  stopped  at  Kronberg^  overnight,  and  bor- 
rowed money  right  and  left,  to  procure  food,  they  said. 
When  informed  of  these  proceedings,  I questioned  the  girls. 
They  told  me  they  had  spent  their  last  money  for  railway 
fares,  and  could  get  nothing  to  eat  in  Homburg  until  the 
kitchen  crew  arrived  from  Berlin ; that  is,  three  or  four 
days  later.  The  circumstances  struck  me  as  so  extraor- 
dinary that  I interpellated  Count  Eulenburg  about  them 
when  the  Court  arrived  in  our  neighborhood.  To  my 
utter  amazement  he  bore  out  the  women’s  statements. 
‘ Where  should  the  money  for  advances  of  that  kind  come 
from?’  he  said.  MVe  pay  all  compulsory  accounts  at  the 
beginning  of  the  month,  and  what  is  left  must  be  held  at 
their  Majesties’  disposal ! ’ You  see,”  concluded  the  court- 
ier, “Eulenburg admits  that  his  Emperor  compels  the  serv- 
ants to  advance  money  on  business  of  his  own.” 


^ Kronberg,  near  Homburg.  In  the  neighborhood  is  Empress  Fred- 
erick’s castle,  called  Friedrichshof. 


290 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


I reported  what  I had  heard  to  Countess  Brockdorff. 
‘^It  is  only  too  true,”  said  Her  Excellency.  “I  have  re- 
peatedly remonstrated  with  Count  Eulenburg  on  that  ac- 
count, but  one  cannot  squeeze  blood  from  a stone,  you 
know.  I am  ashamed  to  admit  it,  but  we  cannot  get  along 
without  these  forced  loans  while  the  exchequer  is  over- 
burdened. But  I think  the  marshal’s  office  might  be  more 
discriminating  in  choosing  its  creditors.  Only  single  men 
and  girls  should  be  sent  on  journeys,  for  the  supposition 
is  that  they  have  a little  money  put  aside.  The  salary  of 
the  married  people  is  usually  spent  during  the  first  week 
after  pay-day,  and  if  ordered  away,  they  have  to  borrow  to 
get  to  the  place  of  destination.” 

Under  Herr  von  Liebenau  it  once  happened  that  the 
royal  attendants  received  an  advance  on  their  mileage  and 
travelling  expenses ; namely,  when  their  Majesties,  then 
Prince  and  Princess  William,  accompanied  by  an  immense 
suite,  went  to  the  Queen’s  Jubilee.  By  this  bit  of  non- 
Prussian  liberality  hangs  a tale.  No  sooner  had  the  Court 
returned  to  Potsdam  than  Herr  von  Liebenau  demanded 
a strict  accounting  of  the  moneys  disbursed,  and,  by  apply- 
ing the  most  niggardly  estimate  on  each  and  every  item,  he 
succeeded  in  unravelling  numerous  instances  of  “extrava- 
gance.” These  servants — think  of  it! — had  eaten  English 
breakfasts  in  England,  instead  of  the  customary  coffee  and 
rolls,  and  had  paid  London  prices  for  beer,  which  are  con- 
siderably higher  than  those  prevailing  in  Potsdam.  So  the 
bills  were  ruthlessly  cut,  and  the  next  salary  day  saw  many 
clinched  teeth,  many  a tear,  when  it  developed  that  the 
difference  between  the  advance  and  the  reduced  bills  had 
been  deducted  from  the  wages.  It  is  not  quite  safe  to 
mention  the  Jubilee  year  among  the  Kaiser’s  servants. 

The  continual  trips  of  servants  between  Potsdam  and 
Berlin  are  responsible  for  everlasting  quibbles  between  the 


WILLIAM  n AND  HIS  CONSORT 


291 


employees  and  the  treasury.  Count  Piickler,  formerly  in 
charge  of  the  travelling  accounts,  issued  an  order  years  ago 
commanding  all  members  of  the  untitled  retinue  to  utilize 
zone-tariff  trains  only,  as  their  rates  are  considerably  lower 
than  those  of  fast  trains.  The  men  and  women  would 
gladly  comply  with  this  request,  but  cannot  always  do  so 
on  account  of  the  urgency  of  business  intrusted  to  them 
by  their  Majesties.  When,  afterward,  the  bills  for  railway 
fare  are  presented,  the  most  abominable  rows  ensue,  and 
servants  valuing  their  standing  with  the  Court-marshal’s 
office  very  frequently  suffer  the  loss  of  their  advances  rather 
than  fight  for  what  is  due  them,  for  though  they  may  be 
ever  so  much  in  the  right,  they  dare  not  attempt  to  prove 
their  case,  it  being  against  etiquette  to  invoke  the  testi- 
mony of  their  Majesties.  It  often  happens  that  the  Kaiser 
or  Kaiserin  orders  an  attendant  to  proceed  to  the  capital 
instantly.  Now,  if  the  Court-marshal  doubts  that  the  com- 
mand was  issued  in  that  form,  the  correct  way  for  him 
would  be  to  ask  the  master  or  mistress,  but  that  would  be 
against  tradition.  Besides,  to  call  in  doubt  an  employee’s 
veracity  is  a much  less  circumspect  procedure.  So  the  flun- 
kies and  maids,  in  their  small  way,  help  to  support  the  spec- 
tacle of  imperial  splendor  enacted  before  all  the  world, — 
the  many  marks  and  pfennigs  wrung  from  them  contribute 
to  the  royal  radiance  that  blinds  the  eyes  of  onlookers  ! 

When  I asked  Madame  von  Larisch  to  increase  the  scanty 
allowance  of  linen  given  to  my  servants,  the  housekeeper 
answered : I would  like  to,  but  cannot,  as  funds  for  labor 

and  material  in  the  wash-kitchen  just  suffice  for  a stipulated 
amount  of  laundry.  Half  a dozen  extra  towels  per  week 
would  upset  calculations.  ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ But  if  I furnish  the  soap  ? ’ ’ 

Your  Ladyship  is  very  generous,  but  the  employees  of 
the  wash-kitchen  have  all  the  work  they  can  do  now,  and 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OP 


292 

the  Court-marshal’s  office  says  it  is  impossible  to  increase 
the  staff.  Besides,  we  have  not  the  material  in  stock. 
When  the  household  linen  is  given  out  on  Saturdays,  the 
presses  are  as  empty  as  the  proverbial  nutshell.” 

The  prevailing  penury  even  reaches  to  the  steps  of  the 
throne.  Can  you  imagine  an  Empress  being  in  need  of 
a couple  of  toothbrush-holders?  Well,  Auguste  Victoria 
wanted  some  for  a week  and  longer,  and  could  not  get 
them.  It  happened  in  December,  1894,  and  I refer  to  it, 
not  as  something  extraordinary,  but  merely  to  illustrate 
a point.  At  the  time  mentioned  Her  Majesty  had  seen 
some  fancy  toothbrush-holders  in  the  bedroom  of  her 
sister,  Louise  Sophie,  wife  of  Prince  Frederick  Leopold. 
Her  Majesty  inquired  where  they  had  been  bought,  and, 
on  coming  home,  ordered  me  to  procure  a couple.  As 
Herr  Nolte  was  going  to  Berlin,  I instructed  him  to  bring 
them  along.  Next  morning.  Her  Majesty  asked  why  the 
holders  had  not  been  procured.  Herr  Nolte  was  called 
in.  **  I tried  to  get  an  order  from  Herr  Baron  von  Mir- 
bach,”  reported  the  man,  '^but,  there  being  no  funds  for 
such  a purpose,  he  sent  me  to  Count  Eulenburg.  His 
Excellency,  despite  my  respectful  protest,  insisted  that  the 
matter  must  go  through  the  usual  routine,  and  sent  me 
away.  ’ ' 

Routine, — and  what  may  that  be  ? ” asked  the  Empress, 
impatiently,  after  Herr  Nolte  had  been  dismissed. 

‘*The  Court-marshal’s  office,”  I made  answer,  *^will  for- 
ward a letter  to  the  store  demanding  an  estimate  of  the 
article  wanted.  Then  the  royal  porcelain  manufactory 
will  be  asked  whether  the  price  is  fair  or  not,  and,  that 
being  settled,  the  various  chiefs  of  departments  will  be 
required  to  furnish  the  money,  each,  of  course,  trying  to 
‘unload’  upon  the  other.  In  this  way  from  six  to  ten 
days  will  be  spent.” 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


293 


*^But  I will  have  the  things  to-day/’  said  the  Empress. 
‘^Notify  the  fourrier  to  send  for  them.” 

I did  so  then  and  there,  and  repeated  the  order  every 
morning  for  an  entire  week,  but  only  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  tenth  day  after  Her  Majesty’s  visit  of  discovery  in 
Glienecke  were  the  holders  produced.  It  had  taken  all 
this  time  to  scrape  together  twelve  marks  necessary  to  pro- 
cure the  much-coveted  articles,  and  Her  Majesty  had  made 
twelve  separate  and  distinct  rows  about  the  matter. 

A similar  incident  happened  a few  months  later,  when 
Her  Majesty  ordered  a bedscreen  to  be  recovered  in  one  of 
the  rooms  which  the  Duchess  of  Gliicksburg  was  to  occupy 
for  a time.  ‘‘See  that  it  is  done  at  once,”  she  said  to 
Madame  von  Larisch.  “I  want  fine  mulle  used,  and  the 
screen  must  be  finished  by  to-night.”  So  a letter,  convey- 
ing Her  Majesty’s  command,  was  despatched  to  Baron  von 
Lyncker  by  the  castellan.  “All  right,”  said  the  House- 
marshal,  “I  will  talk  with  Her  Majesty  about  it  at  table.” 

“Pardon  me.  Her  Majesty  will  brook  no  delay.  She 
said  her  sister  would  be  here  to-morrow  noon,  and  that  all 
preparations  for  Her  Highness  must  be  finished  to-day. 
Besides,”  added  the  castellan,  slyly,  “it  will  not  be  neces- 
sary to  pay  for  the  stuff  at  once.” 

Borrowers  are  always  liberal,  and  so  the  Baron  authorized 
the  sending  of  a messenger  into  town  for  the  purpose  of 
finding  out  how  much  mulle  was  needed  and  how  much  it 
would  cost.  It  took  two  people  and  a pair  of  horses  three 
hours  to  accomplish  this  feat,  and  as  Herr  von  Lyncker  had 
gone  to  Berlin  when  they  returned,  his  signature  for  the 
purchase  could  not  be  obtained  until  next  morning.  Then 
the  horses  and  men  went  to  work  a second  time,  and  finally 
the  stuff  was  turned  over  to  the  upholstery  department  in 
the  Palais,  which,  before  work  was  begun,  had  to  file  an 
estimate  as  to  the  time  required  for  the  job.  That  done, 


294 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


the  artisan  commenced  on  the  screen  at  about  the  same 
time  when  Her  Majesty  paid  a second  visit  to  the  guest 
chambers  in  company  of  Countess  Keller  and  Mademoi- 
selle von  Haake,  both  of  whom  carried  divers  tidies  and 
cushions  from  the  Empress’s  own  room  with  which  to  com- 
plete the  decorations. 

When  Auguste  Victoria  observed  that  the  screen  was  still 
missing,  she  was  furious.  The  housekeeper,  the  castellan, 
and  chief  fourrier  were  ordered  to  report  at  once,  and, 
without  giving  them  a chance  to  explain.  Her  Majesty 
abused  these  people  roundly  for  neglecting  the  ‘^all- 
highest  ’ ’ command.  At  last,  Madame  von  Larisch  suc- 
ceeded in  placing  the  guilt  where  it  belonged,  and  as  the 
upholsterer  simultaneously  sent  word  that  the  screen  would 
be  ready  in  an  hour’s  time.  Her  Majesty  calmed  down. 

Scenes  and  annoyances  like  the  above,  growing  out  of 
the  chronic  want  of  funds,  are,  however,  not  limited  to 
demands  for  extraordinary  expenditure.  We  go  through 
the  same  farce  every  time  a piece  of  china  or  glass  in  one 
of  the  bedrooms  is  broken,  for  the  Prussian  Court  has  no 
duplicates  of  such  necessary  articles  as  wash-pitchers,  bowls, 
pails,  soap-dishes,  or  water-bottles.  When  one  of  these 
things  in  the  Kaiserin’s  chamber,  for  instance,  is  smashed, 
Frau  Schade  must  carry  the  pieces  to  the  Haushofmeistery 
who  lays  them  before  the  House-marshal,  who  lays  them 
before  the  Court-marshal,  who  lays  them  before  the  treas- 
urer. 

Then  the  treasurer  authorizes  the  making  of  an  estimate 
to  replace  the  articles,  the  two  marshals  countersign  the 
document,  and  the  Haushofmdster  sends  a wagon  into 
town  to  fetch  it,  or  orders  it  sent  from  Berlin.  Of  course, 
all  this  takes  time ; often  several  days  are  spent  in  winding 
and  unwinding  red  tape,  and  in  the  interim  Her  Majesty 
has  to  get  along  as  best  she  can  without  a glass  for  her 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


295 


tooth-water  sometimes,  and  on  other  occasions  without  that 
piece  of  furniture  which  the  Duchess  of  Orleans  describes 
as  essential  to  life’s  true  comfort. 

So  much  for  our  difficulties  at  home ; but  poverty  stares 
the  German  Empress  in  the  face  even  when  she  travels  with 
her  immense  suite  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  waiting, 
marshals,  equerries,  masters  of  the  hounds,  valets,  cham- 
berlains, treasurers,  her  overseers  of  the  plate,  gun-chargers, 
mouth-cooks,  and  the  cloud  of  footmen,  couriers,  coach- 
men, and  grooms.  As  long  as  I can  remember,  the 
Kaiserin  never  owned  enough  trunks  to  carry,  besides  her 
toilets,  the  linen  for  the  imperial  bed  and  bath  rooms,^  and 
that  despite  the  fact  that  the  Court  is  almost  continuously 
on  the  road. 

“The  mistress  of  the  linen-presses  must  furnish  baskets 
and  cases,  ’ ’ decrees  the  grand-master  every  time  this  emer- 
gency arises. 

“Beg  your  pardon,”  answers  Fraulein  Kubou,  “I  have 
scarcely  enough  baskets  to  carry  the  laundry  from  the 
palace  to  the  wash-house.” 

“The  Kammerfrau  must  provide  the  baggage  utensils.” 

Mademoiselle  von  Haake  swears  she  does  not  know 
wherein  to  pack  the  Kaiserin’ s dresses,  and  so  it  happens 
quite  often  that  Her  Majesty’s  linen  is  sent  on  a journey  in 
dry-goods  cases  or  even  in  card-board  boxes, — odds  and 
ends  from  the  store-room. 

That  the  army  of  servants  does  not  eat  up  the  enormous 
appropriations  for  the  royal  Court,  and  that  the  adminis- 
tration is  finical  rather  than  extravagant,  has  been  shown, 
and  I may  add  that  the  costs  of  the  entertainments,  pri- 
vate and  official  ones,  are  likewise  limited.  The  royal 


^ Her  Majesty  always  carries  an  entire  outfit  of  household  linen 
along  with  her  on  her  travels,  unless  she  is  visiting  royalty. 


296 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


table,  never  luxurious,  is  hardly  better  provided  than  the 
average  Berlin  table-d^ hote  at  three  marks  at  the  great 
Abfiitterungen  (feedings),  as  the  obligatory  dinners  are 
called  by  Count  Eulenburg, — visiting  army  officers,  who 
ought  to  know,  at  least  say  so, — and  the  arrangements  of 
the  Gr and- e chans  on  and  Grand-ecuyer  tranchant  at  the 
Court  balls  are  such  as  to  permit  only  every  ninth  or  tenth 
of  the  invited  persons  to  obtain  a swallow  of  third-rate 
champagne  and  a sandwich. 

The  visits  of  royalty  are  made  occasions  of  great  dis- 
play, of  course ; reasonably  liberal  extra  appropriations  are 
made  to  the  chef  at  such  times,  and  lest  the  chasseurs 
make  a mistake  and  pour  out  inferior  vintage  for  a visiting 
Excellency  or  Highness,  all  courtiers  get  the  best  of  cham- 
pagnes, which  otherwise  are  furnished  to  their  Majesties 
only,  but  even  then  the  Court-marshal  manages  to  save  an 
honest  penny  here  and  there. 

Count  Herbert  Bismarck,  returning  from  a trip  to  Eng- 
land in  1892,  set  abroad  a story  that  the  Prince  of  Wales 
kept  away  from  Berlin  because  he  could  not  get  any  of  his 
people  to  accompany  him,  which  is,  of  course,  nonsense, 
and  was  probably  never  intended  to  be  taken  seriously; 
but  it  is  a fact  that  during  His  Royal  Highness’s  last  offi- 
cial visit  to  our  Court,  in  March,  1889,  his  employees, 
from  valet  down  to  groom,  were  constantly  brawling  with 
Herr  von  Liebenau  on  account  of  what  they  described  as 
‘^starvation  diet.”  When  the  typical  German  breakfast, 
consisting  of  coffee,  milk,  two  rolls,  a diminutive  pat  of 
butter,  and  two  pieces  of  sugar,  was  sent  in  to  the  valet,  he 
demanded  steak  and  eggs  in  addition,  and  so  did  the  foot- 
men and  grooms.  These  protests  were  treated  with  silent 
contempt  by  Herr  von  Liebenau,  but  when  the  noon  meal 
called  forth  similar  criticisms,  he  threatened  to  inform  His 
Royal  Highness  of  the  men’s  “unruly  behavior.” 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


297 


all  means,  do  so,”  replied  the  Englishmen;  “that 
is  what  we  want.  Our  master  will  then  engage  board  for 
us  at  a hotel.  That  is  the  kind  of  a gentleman  he  is.” 

And  so  the  battle  waged  merrily  on ; only  one  bottle  of 
beer  was  allowed  to  the  foreigners,  and  they  asked  per- 
mission to  provide  their  own  drinks ; they  refused  to  eat 
cold  pork  and  potato-salad  for  supper,  and  when  told  that 
it  was  Her  Majesty’s  favorite  dish,  their  remarks  approached 
dangerously  near  to  Use  itiajeste.  Altogether  Albert  Ed- 
ward’s men  had  a very  hard  time  of  it  at  the  Schloss,  and 
Herr  von  Liebenau  cursed  them,  in  the  presence  of  Her 
Majesty,  “as  the  hungriest  and  most  impudent  set  of  me- 
nials” he  ever  encountered. 

“If  they  stay  another  week,”  he  vowed,  “my  whole 
force  will  be  demoralized,  and  I should  not  know  where  to 
obtain  money  enough  to  fill  their  ravenous  pouches.  I beg 
Your  Majesty’s  pardon,  but  that  is  the  only  expression  that 
fits  the  situation.” 

Though  almost  every  royal  visit  begets  demonstrations  of 
that  kind,  majesty  itself  was  made  but  once  to  suffer  the 
humiliation  of  being  called  upon  to  help  an  attendant  to 
obtain  the  necessary  food  in  its  proud  halls.  It  happened 
on  June  21,  1892.  The  day  before,  the  King  and  Queen 
of  Italy  had  arrived  in  Potsdam,  and  a state  dinner  was  to 
be  given  in  their  honor  at  5 p.m.  On  the  morning  preced- 
ing this  grand  occasion.  Queen  Marguerite  discovered  that 
a lace  shawl,  which  she  intended  to  wear  in  the  procession 
to  the  Marble  Hall,  had  been  left  behind,  and  she  sent  her 
woman  of  the  bed-chamber  to  Berlin  to  procure  another. 
This  lady,  belonging  to  an  aristocratic  family,  returned  to 
the  palace  at  two  o’clock,  and  called  at  once  for  her  dinner, 
as  she  was  to  superintend  Her  Majesty’s  toilet,  set  for  an 
hour  later.  In  parentheses  it  should  be  remarked  that  it 
was  a broiling  hot  day.  Fancy,  then,  the  thoughts  of  the 


298 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


Italian  dame,  when  the  footman  brought  her  lentil  soup, 
with  fresh  pork,  a piece  of  warmed-over  pot-roast,  six  pota- 
toes, and  a bottle  of  beer.  Lentils,  pork,  pot-roast,  and 
beer ! And  presently  she  was  to  dress  her  Queen,  a lady 
of  the  finest  sensibilities  ! The  Italienne' s inborn  aversion 
to  this  essentially  Teutonic  menu  was  almost  as  great  as 
her  official  horror.  She  rang  for  Mademoiselle  von  Haake. 
“Please  tell  your  mistress,”  she  said,  politely  but  firmly, 
“that  I cannot,  and,  moreover,  dare  not,  eat  this  stuff. 
I shall  have  to  ride  into  town  to  get  my  dinner,  and  if  no 
carriage  is  to  be  had,  I will  take  the  next  train  to  Berlin.” 

“But  what  will  the  Queen  say,  if  you  are  not  here  to 
dress  her  for  the  banquet.” 

“Her  Majesty  will  be  late,  of  course,  but  she  would 
rather  be  late  than  see  me  starve.  I know  you  Germans 
look  down  upon  us  poor  Italians,  but  at  my  mistress’s  house 
every  visitor  is  provided  with  food  suitable  to  her  rank.” 

Fraulein  von  Haake  was  thunderstruck.  I can  see  her 
yet,  poor  soul ! as  she  slunk  into  the  parlor  where  we  were 
sitting,  and  at  the  door  waited  for  an  opportunity  to  catch 
Her  Majesty’s  eye.  The  Kaiserin,  thinking  something  was 
wrong  with  her  costume,  sent  me  to  inquire  what  was  the 
matter.  “Only  Her  Majesty  can  prevent  a scandal,”  she 
whispered:  “it  concerns  our  guests.”  Alarmed  by  my 
report,  the  Empress  went  over  to  Haake.  A short  while 
later  she  called  out,  in  sharp,  commanding  tones:  “Count 
Puckler.” 

The  Court -marshal  ran  to  Her  Majesty.  “The  kitchen 
is  in  your  charge  ? ’ ’ she  demanded,  brusquely^  Every  one 
in  the  room  could  hear  her  words. 

“At  Your  Majesty’s  commands.” 

“Then  see  to  it  that  every  one  of  their  Majesties’ 
attendants — every  one,  I say — is  provided  with  food  from 
my  own  kitchen.  Go  and  carry  out  my  orders,  and,” 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


299 


added  the  Kaiserin,  as  His  Lordship  was  about  to  with- 
draw, ^^make  your  apologies  to  Queen  Marguerite’s  woman 
of  the  bed-chamber.  This  lady  must  be  furnished  with  a 
freshly-cooked  meal  within  twenty  minutes,  or  to-day’s 
affair  may  be  delayed.” 

These  petty  savings  of  the  household,  effected  by  fair 
and  foul  means,  are  swallowed  up  by  incessant  attempts  to 
promote  grandeur  and  cater  to  the  reconstruction  craze  of 
the  imperial  master. 

^^Find  out  what  ^oniomania’  means,”  said  the  Princess 
of  Meiningen  to  her  Hofdame,  suddenly,  at  a soirh  that 
marked  their  Highnesses’  departure  from  the  Thiergarten 
villa  in  the  spring  of  1893.  Madame  von  Berger  went 
through  the  parlors,  and  finally  stepped  into  the  conserv- 
atory to  look  for  a professional  man  capable  of  obliging 
her  mistress.  She  came  back  after  a few  minutes.  “It  is 
a word  coined  by  a French  savant,”  she  reported,  “and 
describes  a mental  condition  known  as  the  buying  craze.” 

“Then  it  does  not  apply  to  my  big  brother,”  said  the 
Princess.  “William  can  very  well  withstand  the  impulse 
to  acquire  things — for  others,  at  least.  Ah,  now  I have  it,  ’ ’ 
she  continued,  after  a while:  “it  is  the  instinct  of  de- 
struction that  goads  him  to  unchevaleresqtie  acts  against  his 
sister.^  I am  too  self-conscious  to  suit  him.  Nothing  that 
others  do  without  his  assistance  or  personal  supervision 
appeals  to  him.  Whether  it  is  the  decoration  of  a hall,  or 
an  arrangement  of  bric-a-brac,  it  must  come  down  and  be 
remodelled  before  it  meets  with  his  approval.  I used  to 
laugh  at  William’s  ravings  against  the  new  Reichstag  build- 
ing when  he  said  nothing  would  give  him  greater  pleasure 


* The  Meiningens  were  compelled  to  give  up  the  lease  of  the  Thier- 
garten villa,  as  the  Emperor  refused  to  abide  by  Emperor  Frederick’s 
contract  and  pay  the  rent. 


300 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


than  to  see  the  ^ box  ’ in  ruins  so  that  he  might  utilize  the 
stones  and  pillars  to  rear  another  pile,  but  I fail  to  see  the 
humor  of  it  now.  Bernhardt  and  I thought  it  funny  to 
see  a room  in  the  Schloss,  just  finished  with  gilded  stucco, 
paintings  and  wainscotings,  in  a state  of  demolition  at  our 
next  visit,  but  when  we  were  told  that  the  work  of  recon- 
structing the  interior  arrangements  of  the  palace  had  cost 
twice  as  much  as  was  first  estimated.  His  Majesty’s  want  of 
sympathy  with  the  ideas  of  others,  the  rapidity  with  which 
he  changes  his  mind  about  building  schemes  that  some 
months  or  weeks  previous  found  his  enthusiastic  approval, 
began  to  alarm  us.  Now  we  see  to  what  it  leads.” 

When  Princess  Charlotte  spoke  thus  to  a few  intimate 
friends,  she  had  the  best  reason  in  the  world  for  quarrel- 
ling with  the  Emperor,  yet  her  statements  were  in  no  wise 
exaggerated.  Hardly  had  the  masons,  plasterers,  carpen- 
ters, painters,  decorators,  furnishers,  and  artists  left  the 
reconstructed  Schloss,  after  a year’s  work,  than  the  Kaiser 
ordered  the  greater  number  of  rooms  torn  up  again.  Here 
a classic  painting  set  into  the  ceiling  was  too  dark,  there 
the  stucco  was  not  heavy  enough ; in  another  hall  the  old- 
fashioned  and  very  beautiful  fire-places  were  spoiling 
everything,”  and  nothing  would  do  but  to  have  new  plans 
drawn  up  a twelvemonth  after  the  original  ones  were 
audited.  The  army  of  artisans  was  recalled  to  the  castle 
and  chaos  was  re-established,  while  the  Kaiser  went  on  his 
visiting  tours  to  the  German  sovereigns.  When,  after  a 
month’s  absence.  His  Majesty  inspected  his  winter  home 
a second  time  and  saw  his  own  ideas  represented,  he  was 
happy,  and  expressed  his  entire  satisfaction  before  the 
whole  Court,  but  that  did  not  hinder  him  from  proclaim- 
ing ‘‘the  library  a shabby  barn,  resembling  a school-room,” 
the  day  after.  As  a matter  of  fact,  the  library  was  then  a 
beautiful  apartment,  beautiful  in  a style  that  harmonized 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  30! 

with  its  purpose.  The  Kaiser’s  command  tumbled  the  fine 
stucco  walls  and  ceiling  to  the  ground,  and  senseless  orna- 
mentation, profuse  and  chaotic,  took  the  place  of  the  former 
noble  simplicity,  while  the  heavy  book-cases,  the  arrange- 
ment of  which  had  required  many  weeks  of  labor,  remained 
standing  in  the  dust  and  confusion,  it  being  impossible  to 
move  them  in  the  short  space  of  time  allowed  for  the  recon- 
struction. When,  finally,  the  Court  moved  into  the  Schloss, 
His  Majesty  regaled  us,  on  one  of  the  first  evenings,  at  sup- 
per, with  the  story  of  an  awful”  experience  he  had  had. 

was  alone  in  my  study,”  said  he,  ^^and  desired  to 
see  the  effect  of  the  electric  light  on  Licwcs  Verschnur’s 
painting  of  the  Great  Elector’s  Navy.  I tried  to  turn  on 
the  current,  but  in  vain  sought  for  a button.  I searched 
high  and  low,  but  could  not  find  one.  I rang  for  my 
adjutants,  but  these  gentlemen  were  as  unsuccessful  as  I 
had  been.  Then  we  called  in  the  chasseurs  and  footmen  : 
the  same  result.  The  fourrier  finally  informed  me  that 
the  lighting  apparatus  had  been  placed  outside  of  the 
doors  in  all  but  the  bedrooms.  Now,  this  is  sheer  insan- 
ity, and  it  must  be  altered  at  once.  The  electricians  shall 
commence  work  to-morrow.” 

Now  followed  a third  invasion  of  workmen,  but  my  mis- 
tress’s half-hearted  resolve  that  it  should  be  the  last  was 
not  realized,  for  presently  William  turned  his  attention  to 
the  furniture.  The  chairs  and  tables  in  the  Pillar  Room, 
His  Majesty’s  own  selection,  by  the  way,  were  of  fine 
cedar  wood  inlaid  with  gold  and  mother-of-pearl, — a de- 
lightful effect,  but  not  rich  enough  for  modern  rodomon- 
tadist  taste.  Another  outfit  was  bought,  treble  the  cost  of 
the  first,  heavy,  stiff,  cumbersome  arm-chairs,  with  frames 
of  bronze  and  upholstered  in  imitation  tapestry.  These 
chairs  are  not  in  harmony  with  the  character  of  the  room ; 
the  fact  that  part  of  the  material  is  unreal  gives  them  an 


302 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


air  of  cheapness  despite  their  high  price,  but  the  Kaiser 
improved  on  his  own  taste,  and  so  all  was  well — for  a time. 

And  the  White  Hall  of  the  castle  ! William  has  med- 
dled with  it  ever  since  the  day  he  turned  his  mother  out 
of  her  apartments  in  the  Neues  Palais,  and  the  result  is 
an  architectural  and  decorative  nightmare,  stilted,  forever 
unfinished,  bleak  and  empty.  Alterations  to-day  decreed 
and  inaugurated  with  much  trumpetings  invariably  prove 
disappointments  of  the  morrow,  and  are  forthwith  abol- 
ished to  make  room  for  the  realization  of  some  new  mo- 
mentary photographs  on  the  imperial  mind.  Often  we 
hear,  for  weeks  at  a time,  nothing  but  White  Hall  -talk  at 
table  and  other  occasions  when  the  Emperor  is  present. 
Now  it  is  to  be  a Marble  Hall,  next  the  symphonies  of 
silver”  are  to  be  revived,  which  Frederick  William  cre- 
ated in  the  shape  of  balconies,  balustrades,  tables,  pillars, 
and  mighty  chandeliers,  all  of  the  sterling  metal,  and 
which  Frederick  turned  into  the  melting-pots  during  the 
Seven  Years’  War.  ‘‘  Only  white  and  gold,  set  off  by  red 
velvet,  are  to  be  employed  in  the  decorations.”  ^‘No: 
yellow  silk  is  the  modern  imperial  color,  ’ ’ and  so  on  and 
so  on.  After  the  birth  of  the  ^gir  song,  the  Kaiser  had 
the  musicians’  gallery  reconstructed  after  his  own  plans: 
being  a competitor  for  Wagnerian  honors,  he  thought  it 
incumbent  upon  him  to  imitate  the  maestro,  who  invented 
the  invisible  orchestra,  in  other  respects  also ; but  after 
ten  thousand  marks  had  been  wasted  in  the  enterprise,  it 
turned  out  that  the  remodelled  box  was  entirely  unfit  for 
use.  All  the  royal  leaders  were  successively  invited  to 
perform  in  it  and  all  declined,  pleading  lack  of  room  and 
acoustic  difficulties.  At  present  the  band  performs  in  the 
Diplomatenloge ^ the  Ambassadors  have  been  shifted  to  the 
royal  box,  and  royalty  is  without  an  up-stairs  home  in 
the  White  Hall. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  303 

One  day  the  Kaiser  surprised  the  Court  by  saying: 

Why  must  it  be  a White  Hall?  I think  of  turning  it 
into  a Green  Hall.  It  would  be  something  new.”  And, 
presto  ! one  corner  of  the  state-room  was  covered  with  imi- 
tation marble  of  a yellowish-green  tint.  Three  weeks  were 
consumed  in  making  this  innovation,  and  twelve  days  in 
removing  it.  Result : nine  thousand  marks  thrown  to  the 
dogs ! The  next  plan  evolved  was  a widening  of  the  hall 
by  twenty  metres  taken  off  the  court-yard.  Several  gangs 
of  workmen  were  set  to  work  at  once  pulling  up  the  flag- 
stones and  digging.  They  fought  water  and  quicksands 
four  months  in  succession,  and  laid  foundations  strong 
enough  for  a two-hundred-foot  tower.  And  then,  all  of 
a sudden,  the  big  ditch  and  its  costly  contents  were  cov- 
ered up.  After  one  hundred  thousand  marks  had  been 
fooled  away,  the  money  gave  out,  and,  besides.  His  Maj- 
esty had  his  eye  on  another  improvement.  The  colon- 
nades which  connect  the  barrack  palaces  opposite  the 
Neues  Palais  were  to  be  reconstructed,  strengthened,  and 
beautified.  Derricks  were  set  up,  fences  and  other  eye- 
sores erected,  and  for  a quarter  of  a year  fifty  or  sixty 
masons  and  stone-cutters  encamped  in  the  Sandhof,  to  be 
discharged  long  before  they  had  finished  the  work.  The 
colonnades  are  now  closed. 

The  White  Hall,  however,  cannot  be  left  in  a half- 
finished  state,  though  experimenting  goes  bravely  on,  year 
in,  year  out.  Every  once  in  a while  it  must  be  put  into 
thorough  order  for  some  Court  festivity  or  government 
act,  and,  to  cover  up  and  hide  the  ravages  of  this  recon- 
struction-mad King,  whitewashers,  painters,  gilders,  and 
decorators  are  put  to  work  in  the  hydrocephalus,  as  Herr 
von  Wedell  calls  it.  So  the  Court  is  always  in  an  uproar, 
whether  we  are  in  Potsdam  or  Berlin,  and  when,  for  one 
reason  or  another,  hammer  and  trowel  are  laid  aside,  His 


304  PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 

Majesty  quickly  finds  ways  and  means  to  bring  them  back. 
In  the  summer  of  1897,  for  instance,  he  gave  permission  that 
the  bedrooms  and  sitting-rooms  of  the  Hofdamen  in  the 
Berlin  Schloss  should  be  redecorated  and  refurnished,  and 
when  all  was  finished,  he  telegraphed  from  Homburg  that 
their  salons  should  likewise  undergo  a thorough  overhaul- 
ing. That  order  meant  nothing  short  of  re-establishing 
chaos  in  the  rooms  just  finished,  for  the  ladders  and  scaf- 
folding had  to  be  carried  through  them,  there  being  no 
corridors  in  connection  with  the  departments. 

But  despite  these  enormous  building  exploits,  the  palaces 
are  very  far  from  modern,  because  there  is  no  method  in 
the  work.  Everything  is  done  piecemeal ; innovations  of 
to-day  are  abandoned  upon  second  thought.  The  very 
idea  of  concentration  is  wanting. 

To  show  how  things  are  done,  I will  narrate  a rather 
ludicrous  incident,  which  happened  in  the  winter  of  1893, 
shortly  after  His  Majesty’s  Turkish  smoking-room  was 
finished,  an  apartment  situated  in  the  wing  of  the  Berlin 
Schloss  overlooking  the  Elector’s  Bridge.  One  evening, 
several  guests,  among  them  the  Princess  Frederick  Charles, 
Prince  Pless,  Prince  and  Princess  Radziwill,  and  the  He- 
reditary Prince  and  Princess  of  Hohenzollern,  were  to  be 
introduced,  after  supper,  to  the  splendors  and  comforts  of 
the  Oriental  chamber.  That  the  smoking-room,  at  the  time 
being,  could  be  reached  only  by  way  of  the  private  apart- 
ment of  one  of  the  adjutants  was  so  small  a matter  that  it 
had  never  been  given  a second  thought ! 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  repast,  we  formed  the  usual 
stately  procession, — at  the  head  the  Haushofmeister  and 
the  chamberlain  du  jour,  the  adjutants  coming  second,  and 
immediately  after  them  Her  Majesty  upon  the  arm  of  the 
Prince  of  Hohenzollern,  the  Kaiser  conducting  his  great- 
aunt,  and  the  rest  following  according  to  rank  and  station. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  305 

We  passed  from  the  Sternen  Saal  to  the  adjutant’s  salon^ 
and  were  about  to  enter  the  bed-chamber  connecting  with 
the  Oriental  room,  when  the  Kaiser  cried:  ‘‘See  here, 
Pless,  there  is  one  of  the  old-fashioned  electric  lighters  that 
I banished  from  the  rest  of  the  castle.  Touch  the  button 
and  there  will  be  a surprise  for  you.  ’ ’ 

Our  procession  had  stopped  at  His  Majesty’s  first  words, 
and  Johann-Heinrich  XII  advanced  to  do  as  he  was  asked, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  Haushofmeister  drew  back  the 
portieres.  There  was  indeed  a surprise  ! The  occupant  of 
the  chamber,  Adjutant  von  Scholl,  had  changed  his  clothes 
before  supper,  and  his  servant  had  neglected  to  put  the  room 
in  order.  So  the  floor  and  chairs  and  bed — the  latter  looked 
as  if  it  had  been  slept  in — were  strewn  with  wearing  apparel 
in  picturesque  confusion.  Here  a pair  of  trousers,  their 
nether  mates  in  a heap  on  the  floor;  a vest,  torn  under  the- 
arm,  hanging  at  the  window ; a dirty  shirt  on  the  sofa,  and 
collars  galore  on  the  table.  A pair  of  gray  socks  reposed 
near  the  door,  and  Her  Majesty  would  have  stumbled  over 
a boot  had  not  her  escort  kicked  it  aside.  But  the  worst  of 
all  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  midway  between  the 
two  doors, — an  unprintable  thing.  How  we  passed  it  with- 
out a faux  pas  is  a mystery  to  me  ! When  we  reached  the 
Turkish  Room,  the  Hereditary  Princess  threw  herself  upon 
an  ottoman  and  laughed  till  the  tears  ran  down  her  cheeks. 
“ Oh,  mon  dieu^  mon  dieu  /”  she  cried  over  and  over  again, 
^^c'est  tout  comme  chez  nousf  a tell-tale  remark  which 
friends  of  the  royal  couple,  who  visit  at  their  villa  in 
Augusta  Strasse,  Potsdam,  will  appreciate. 

After  this,  another  entrance  to  the  smoking-room,  through 
the  adjutant’s  salon^  was  provided. 

To  the  reconstruction  moloch  millions  are  sacrificed  year 
by  year,  but  the  expenses  connected  with  the  Kaiser’s  travels 
are  even  larger,  and  in  the  account  thereof  the  cost  of  his 


3o6 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


state  visits  to  the  foreign  courts  is,  strange  to  say,  not  the 
most  excessive  item.  True,  when  we  went  to  Rome  in 
the  spring  of  1893,  the  King  and  Queen  of  Italy  said 
His  Majesty’s  train  of  eighty  people  reminded  them  of 
the  deluge;  but  our  three  days’  stay  at  Hannover  in  the 
winter  of  1891  cost  nearly  half  as  much  as  the  tour  in 
the  Peninsula,  namely,  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
marks,  one-third  of  which  was  expended  for  carpets  and 
rugs.  The  royal  castles,  you  must  know,  are  empty  barns 
for  the  most  part,  and  whenever  either  of  the  Majesties 
visits  the  residences  in  Breslau,  Konigsberg,  Cassel,  Wies- 
baden, Homburg,  and  Stettin,  or  when  William  goes  to 
his  various  hunting-boxes,  whole  car-loads  of  furniture, 
pictures,  decorative  material,  and  all  the  necessary  silver, 
linen,  and  kitchen  utensils  must  be  sent  ahead,  together 
with  a full  force  of  servants,  horses  and  carriages,  food  and 
forage.  Fancy,  then,  the  tumult  occasioned  by  the  meet- 
ing between  the  Romanoffs  and  Hohenzollerns  in  the  cap- 
ital of  Silesia  in  the  summer  of  1896,  when  two  palaces 
had  to  be  furnished  from  top  to  bottom  ! The  robbing  of 
Peter  to  pay  Paul  was  almost  pitiful  to  behold : my  mistress 
actually  had  to  give  up  her  favorite  damask  curtains,  which 
she  bought  out  of  her  own  money  for  Wilhelmshohe,  to 
garnish  the  connubial  couch  of  Nicholas  and  Alix,  while 
she  herself  had  to  sleep  in  a bed  once  occupied  by  the  ple- 
beian King  Jerome,  brought  on  from  Cassel.  The  pihes 
de  resistance  in  the  home  improvised  for  their  Russian 
Majesties  in  Breslau  were  taken  from  the  consignment  of 
Empire  furniture,  which  one  of  the  Kurfursts  of  Hesse 
bought  in  Paris  some  fifty  years  ago  and  for  which  pay- 
ment was  refused.  His  Royal  Highness’s  Diet  had  to  liqui- 
date the  bill  in  the  end,  and  when  the  Prussians  annexed 
the  country,  they  promptly  seized  the  furniture  as  one  of 
the  people’s  assets. 


' WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  307 

To  conclude,  confusion  and  red  tape,  extravagance  and 
penury,  go  hand  in  hand  at  the  Prussian  Court ; the  pre- 
ponderance of  these  incongruous  qualities  is  felt  in  all 
departments  of  the  service. 

The  young  Princes,  whom  the  nation  furnishes  with  a 
lieutenant’s  salary  beginning  with  their  tenth  birthday, 
must  disburse  the  wages  of  their  body-servants  out  of  this 
meagre  allowance;  but  when,  a short  while  ago,  Herr  von 
Wedell  protested  against  a million  marks  appropriation  for 
reconstruction  experiments,  such  as  above  described,  the 
Kaiser  silenced  him  with  the  words:  “1  thought  you  liked 
to  be  Minister  of  the  Royal  House.  ’ ’ 


CHAPTER  XIII 


‘^Madame,”  wrote  an  anonymous  correspondent  in  July, 
1894,  ^^do  you  know  what  is  the  difference  between  you 
and  Maria  Leczinski?  Her  children  died,  while  Louis 
the  Fifteenth’s  illegitimate  offspring  flourished.  To-day 
the  Kaiser’s  Vienna  baby  is  dead.  I wonder  if  for  the 
same  reason  which  the  physician  of  His  Most  Christian 
Majesty  assigned  for  the  demise  of  the  Queen’s  children ; 
namely,  “that  she  had  only  the  rinsings  from  the  glass?” 

That  cruel  letter,  cruel,  yet  consoling  in  more  than  one 
way,  arrived  when  the  anonymous  letter  scandal  was  at  its 
height  and  the  little  waif  was  about  twelve  years  old. 

Her  mother  was  a beauteous  Viennese,  Frdulein  Caroline 
Seiffert,  one  of  the  late  Crown  Prince  Rudolph’s  set.  To 
her  belongs  the  distinction  of  being  the  only  woman  who, 
besides  Auguste  Victoria,  bore  a child  to  the  Emperor. 

Madame  von  Kotze  insists  that  it  was  a spite-baby. 

“And  what  on  earth  is  a spite-baby?  ” I inquired. 

“They  had  been  making  fun  of  Caroline — His  Majesty, 
then  Prince  William,  and  the  Prince  Imperial — ^ as  a little 
idiot,  who  did  not  know  enough  to  have  a child but,  like 
the  first  Napoleon’s  love,  Marguerite  Bellisle  (the  girl  Gen- 
eral Bonaparte  had  with  him  in  Egypt,  or  rather  took  away 
from  one  of  his  officers  there), ^ the  Wiener  beaute  said:  Hf 


' If  she  had  borne  him  a son,  Napoleon  would  probably  have  di- 
vorced Josephine  for  her  sake.  Mademoiselle  Bellisle  was  married 
several  times,  but  never  had  offspring. 

309 


310 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


I get  only  half  a chance,  I will  show  them  who  the  idiot  is.* 
In  August  or  September,  1882,  her  child  was  born,  two  or 
three  weeks  after  Eitel  Fritz,  the  Kaiser’s  second  son,  saw 
the  light  at  the  Marble  Palace.” 

I remembered  the  circumstances  perfectly,  and  my  ques- 
tion to  Madame  von  Kotze  was  merely  asked  to  help  clear 
up,  if  possible,  the  authorship  of  the  unsigned  communi- 
cations that  had  kept  their  Majesties  and  the  Court  in  a 
turmoil  for  two  years.  I was  one  of  many  in  the  royal  serv- 
ice and  society  generally  who  did  not  believe  the  Kotzes 
guilty,  and  have  never  had  occasion  to  change  this  opinion. 
Jealousy  was  alleged  to  be  the  mainspring  of  the  scandal, — 
Madame  von  Kotze’ s jealousy  of  Countess  Fritz  Hohenau’s 
ascendency  over  the  Kaiser.  I put  the  question  to  disa- 
buse my  mind  of  any  suspicions  of  that  sort. 

To  return  to  William’s  infatuation  for  Mademoiselle 
Seiffert.  That  story  was  well  known  to  the  intimates  of 
the  late  Crown  Prince’s  circle.^  ^*Unser  Fritz''  did  not 
mind  it  much.  Having  been  kept  well  in  hand  by  his 
‘‘Vicky  ” all  through  married  life,  I suspect  he  even  took 
some  mischievous  delight  in  his  son’s  escapade.  Poor  man ! 
he  was  fond  enough  of  that  sort  of  thing,  as  his  visit  to 
the  Court  of  the  late  Alphonse  XII,  so  rich  in  adventure, 
proved.  But  in  the  Princess  Imperial’s  eyes  a liaison  was 
little  short  of  a crime.  Pictures  of  the  fourth  George  and 
Mrs.  Fitz-Herbert,  she  told  me  once,  arose  before  her 
mental  eyes  every  time  she  thought  of  the  matter.  At 
that  period,  be  it  remembered,  the  history  of  Prince  and 
Princess  William’s  marriage  was  as  fresh  in  everybody’s 
memory  as  it  is  now  obscure, — as  fresh  as  were  the  inci- 
dents attending  George’s  courtship  with  Caroline  of  Bruns- 
wick during  the  first  ten  years  after  Europe’s  gentleman 


1 Afterward  Emperor  Frederick. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  3II 

par  excellence  had  reeled  into  the  Chapel  Royal  and  hic- 
coughed out  his  vows  of  fidelity.  Auguste  Victoria  was  a 
much-abused  woman  then,  though  carrying  out  her  part  of 
the  marriage  agreement — to  provide  new  Hohenzollerns — 
with  the  utmost  loyalty.  Indeed,  so  frequent  were  the 
stork’s  visits  in  the  young  household  that  the  wife  was 
unable  to  appear  at  the  great  Court  festivals  for  three 
winters  in  succession,  while  her  husband,  full  of  resentment 
for  his  consort-by-statecraft,  shamefully  ignored  her.  And 
to  crown  it  all, — this  Vienna  scandal ! 

Primarily,  it  was  the  outcome  of  the  friendship  between 
the  two  heirs  destined  to  wear  the  most  ancient  and  the 
newest  imperial  diadems.  Being  of  the  same  age,  and 
possessed  of  temperaments  whose  selfishness  was  only 
equalled  by  thirst  for  power,  both  commanded,  if  not 
much  ready  money,  unlimited  credit  for  certain  extrava- 
gances. Rudolph,  however,  was  far  ahead  of  William  in 
the  knowledge  of  fashionable  vice.  Where  the  Prussian 
Prince  boasted  of  sturdy  conquests,  the  Archduke  went 
him  one  better  as  a cynic  of  degenerate  proclivities.  In 
the  Potsdam  archives,  not  long  ago,  I came  upon  a stack 
of  letters  from  the  representatives  of  Prussia  at  the  Vienna 
Congress,  denouncing  a state  of  morals  that  permitted  the 
sons  of  the  great  Austrian  nobles  to  keep  mistresses  (the 
emphasis  is  on  the  plural)  at  the  age  of  thirteen  or  four- 
teen years.  Similar  observations  might  be  made  to-day  in 
the  Kaiserstadt, — and  Rudolph  was  more  than  a noble  ! 

The  two  young  Princes,  then  twenty-four  and  twenty- 
five  years  old,  considered  it  exquisite  fun  to  revel  in  adul- 
terous debauches,  with  the  official  world  and  society  looking 
on,  and  the  possibility  of  bothersome  consequences  was  in- 
vited rather  than  dreaded  by  these  hopeful  roues. 

Yet,  when  Mademoiselle  Seiffert’s  telegram  arrived  in 
Berlin,  Prince  William  did  not  feel  in  the  devil-may-care 


312 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


mood  that  had  led  him  into  the  adventure,  and  his  first 
serious  misunderstanding  with  his  sister  Charlotte  arose  on 
account  of  a clever  bit  of  poetry  cited  by  Her  Royal  High- 
ness ^^in  honor  of  the  occasion,”  as  she  expressed  herself: 

“ VaUr  werden  ist  nicht  schwer, 

Aber’s  sein  um  desto  mehr'’'  ^ 


Caroline  was  not  sentimental  about  the  affair.  Unlike 
Marie  Vecsera,  she  had  never  dreamed  of  a diadem,  or 
even  a coronet,  to  gloss  over  her  fall  from  virtue.  She 
proved  as  selfish  as  her  lover  pro  tem.y  or  as  any  other 
man,  for  that  matter,  might  have  been.  Only  by  a short 
telegram  sought  she  to  reopen  communication  with  the 
father ; her  next  step  was  to  formulate  her  demands  at  the 
German  Embassy  in  her  native  city. 

There  were  frantic  messages  from  Prince  Reuss,  hus- 
band of  the  royal  and  imperious  Marie  : I am  neither  a 
Eugene  Beauharnais*  nor  a Talleyrand,  who  always  had 
his  pockets  lined  with  mistresses,”  he  wrote.  “What 
have  I to  do  with  this  affair?” 

However,  Prince  Bismarck,  who  was  friendly  both  to 
Reuss  and  William,  at  last  persuaded  the  Ambassador  to 
look  into  the  case. 

“A  hundred  thousand  florins,”  said  Mademoiselle  Seif- 
fert. 

“Nonsense.  The  Prince  owes  you  no  more  than  hun- 
dreds of  others.  His  Royal  Highness  denounces  the  baby 
as  a harlequin.  ’ ’ 


^ “ To  become  a father  is  not  difficult,  but  to  be  one  is.” 

^ He  referred  to  the  time  when  Eugene  Beauharnais,  as  Napoleon’s 
aid,  was  obliged,  like  others  in  a similar  position,  to  keep  his  eyes 
open  for  pretty  women  that  might  please  his  General  and  step-father. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  313 

^^And  what  may  that  be,  Your  Grace?”  asked  the  young 
mother,  according  to  the  diplomatic  correspondence  relat- 
ing to  the  case. 

I mean  to  say  that  it  cannot  be  his.  It  is  made  of  too 
many  pieces.” 

“Is  it?”  said  Caroline,  and  drew  the  cover  from  the 
baby’s  left  arm. 

Prince  Reuss  said  no  more.  His  desire  for  argument 
and  bonmot  had  alike  vanished. 

And  little  Wilhelmina,  “the  rinsing  from  the  cup  of 
pleasure,”  her  father’s  counterfeit  in  the  way  of  physical 
deformities  and  ailments,  was  the  only  natural  child  the 
Kaiser  has  had  or  is  likely  to  have. 

True,  many  noble  Vienna  dames,  daughters  and  nieces 
and  cousins  of  those  who  once  boycotted  the  beautiful 
Sarah  of  Jersey  not  on  account  of  her  scandalous  connec- 
tion with  the  Prince  Regent,  but  on  account  of  her  sleep- 
ing partnership  in  Coutts’s  bank, — those  of  the  gay  world 
continue  in  their  efforts  to  ensnare  the  Kaiser.  Every  time 
His  Majesty  visits  the  Austrian  capital  he  receives  hundreds 
of  love-letters  from  Countesses  and  Princesses  who  fairly 
throw  themselves  at  his  feet,  for,  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Hofburg,  husbands  are  of  that  amiable  type  that  never  in- 
terfere with  Madame ’s  pleasure  so  long  as  they,  the  lords 
of  creation,  are  allowed  to  please  themselves. 

“Your  Majesty  has  the  most  beautiful  eyes;”  “The 
holy  fire  of  idealism  burns  in  your  eyes:  let  them  rest 
upon  Your  Majesty’s  humblest  subject;”  “Your  eyes  are 
those  of  a King  : allow  my  poor  self  to  bask  in  their  sun- 
shine but  for  ever  so  short  a while,”  are  extracts  from 
epistles  the  Kaiser  brought  home  from  time  to  time  and 
read  to  Her  Majesty.  From  their  tone,  the  contents  of 
the  letters  he  kept  to  himself  may  be  imagined.  But  the 
wiles  of  these  sirens  are  as  idle  as  the  persecutions  of  the 


314 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


Vienna  Uranus  brethren,  or  sisters,  as  they  call  themselves, 
associations  of  abnormally-inclined  individuals  who  claim 
to  possess  a female  soul  in  a man’s  body,  and  whose  motto 
reads  : bas  les  femmes ^ These  German  and  Slav  col- 

leagues of  the  French  ‘‘Knights  of  the  Rosary  ” (the  latter 
club  is  headed  by  the  Marquis  of  Larochefoucauld  and 
Josephine  Pelladan,  and  is  highly  respectable)  claim  the 
Emperor  as  one  of  their  own,  although  there  is  no  apparent 
reason  for  their  surmise,  save  the  fact  that  Frederick  the 
Great  seems  to  have  belonged  to  this  unhappy  class  of 
men.  Leaving  that  arrogation  in  dispute,  they  appear  to 
base  their  assumption  on  a circumstance  that  should  strike 
any  unbiased  mind  as  most  creditable, — upon  the  non- 
existence of  a recognized  royal  mistress. 

These  feminine  men,  infinitely  more  detestable  and 
withal  more  debased  than  the  so-called  masculine  women, 
who  are  often  merely  ridiculous,  while  at  other  times  they 
compel  one’s  admiration  because  of  the  superior  intellects 
found  in  their  ranks, — the  Uranus  brethren  pursue  the 
Kaiser  as  often  as  he  visits  Vienna,  with  brazen  effrontery, 
and  some  of  their  letters,  which  have  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  my  mistress,  would  afford  good  grounds  for  prosecutions 
for  lese  majeste, — the  majesty  of  manhood.  I remember 
one  particularly  outrageous  note,  which  was  written  on  a 
perfumed  letter-head,  bearing  the  inscription:  Wiener 
Club  der  Verniinftigen''  (Vienna  Club  of  the  Reasonable). 
It  arrived  a few  days  after  the  Kaiser’s  return,  and,  the 
envelope  proclaiming  a private  character,  was  opened  by 
His  Majesty  in  person.  Mon  bon  freref  commenced 
the  missive  in  quite  royal  fashion,  “we  have  searched  the 
records  of  history  in  order  to  further  substantiate  the  be- 
lief that,  like  your  great  ancestor  and  his  immortal  friend, 
Voltaire,  you  are  one  of  us.  The  elective  affinity,  nay, 
the  consanguinity  itself,  is  not  difficult  to  establish,  Ypur 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  315 

Majesty’s  great-grandmother,  Queen  Louise’s  Mover,  Alex- 
ander, the  Apollo-like  Czar  of  all  the  Russias,  was  a 
^Grec*  of  the  type  of  Plato  and  of  Achilles  and  Patro- 
clus.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  passion  for  homo- 
sexual love  engendered  in  the  Hohenzollerns  by  Frederick 
the  Great  and  lost  in  the  petticoat  reign  of  his  successors, 
was  re-inoculated  into  Your  Majesty’s  race  by  Alexander. 
If  Your  Majesty  doubts  that  Alexander  was  one  of  us,  read 
the  memoirs  of  Countess  Anna  Potocka,”  etc. 

Quite  naturally,  this  letter  upset  the  Kaiser,  and  in  his 
first  rage  he  vowed  never  again  to  visit  the  Hofburg^  but 
changed  his  mind  when,  during  his  presence  in  Rome,  the 
Club  ‘^degli  ignoranti"  sent  him  similar  insinuating  mis- 
sives, and  when,  to  cap  the  climax,  the  Brussels  Reunion 
philanthropique,"  a branch  of  the  Knights  of  the  Rosary, 
offered  to  wait  upon  him  in  corpore  while  he  was  with  the 
King  of  the  Belgians  in  Ostende.  Now  he  decided  to 
throw  himself  upon  the  protection  of  the  police ; and  the 
Berlin  President,  the  late  Baron  von  Richthofen,  wrote  to 
his  colleagues  in  all  the  great  capitals  and  cities,  asking 
them  to  prevent  the  repetition  of  the  annoyance  to  the 
Kaiser  during  later  visits, — a demand  which  could  not 
fail  of  success,  as  the  societies  are  all  more  or  less  under 
surveillance. 


^ That  illicit  relations  existed  between  Alexander  and  Queen  Louise 
has  not  been  proven,  though  it  is  suggested  by  many  circumstances. 
Napoleon  insinuated  that  Alexander  told  him  the  Queen  had  granted 
him  favors.  In  a memorial  of  Napoleon’s  journey  to  St.  Helena,  pub- 
lished several  years  ago,  the  exiled  Emperor  told  how  he  had  invei- 
gled Frederick  William  III,  during  the  meeting  of  the  three  monarchs 
at  Tilsit,  to  pay  him  a ceremonious  visit  in  order  to  give  Alexander  a 
chance  to  enjoy  the  embrace  of  Queen  Louise.  The  title  of  ‘‘Grec,’' 
which  has  a double  meaning  in  French,  was  given  to  Alexander  by 
Napoleon. 


3i6 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


When  through  with  these  negotiations,  Baron  Richt- 
hofen arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  saying  en  vogue 
at  the  Court  of  Henry  III  of  France  (Henry  was  one  of 
the  most  noted  Grecs'^ ) : EsJ>am,  los  Caballeros; 

en  Francia  et  Austria^  los  grande s ; en  Alemania,  pocos ; 
en  Italia^  todos,  ’ ’ ^ holds  good  to  this  day. 

There  is,  as  I said,  not  the  slightest  connecting-link  in 
the  make-up  of  William’s  character  to  justify  the  insolent 
suggestions  of  these  degenerates.  The  Kaiser,  though  he 
has  his  peculiar  likes,  admires  woman’s  beauty  as  much  as 
any  man ; and  if  the  Berlin  Court  of  to-day  is  as  notorious 
for  the  ugliness  of  its  female  members  as  that  of  the  old  Em- 
peror and  Empress  was  for  beautes^  it  is  not  William’s  fault. 

The  Empress,  my  august  mistress,  is  jealousy  personified, 
and  not  only  surrounds  herself  with  a chain  of  passe  and 
sour  dames,  but  treats  women  of  the  aristocracy  who  possess 
attractions  that  might  possibly  captivate  the  Kaiser,  with 
such  exquisite  and  cunning  ill-grace  that  they  are  obliged 
to  keep  away  from  Court  as  often  as  etiquette  permits. 
With  the  exception  of  Countess  Bassewitz,  who  is  young 
and  pretty  of  face,  all  Her  Majesty’s  ladies  belong  to  the 
old  guard,  and  if,  perchance,  a good-looking  girl  is  en- 
gaged for  the  higher  duties  of  the  household  where  the 
Emperor  is  liable  to  meet  her,  Auguste  Victoria  soon  finds 
ways  and  means  to  rid  the  palace  of  that  ray  of  sunshine. 
Either  the  young  person  is  driven  to  hand  in  her  resigna- 
tion by  those  arts  which  jealous  women  understand  so  well, 
or  is  transferred  to  some  distant  residence  which  the  imperial 
master  never  visits. 

Sinfully  fair  chambermaids  even  are  subject  to  that  rule, 
and  if  I feared  not  to  ruin  their  chances  in  life,  I could 


^ In  Spain,  the  Knights  are  devoted  to  this  vice ; in  France  and 
Austria,  the  aristocrats ; in  Germany,  a few  ; in  Italy,  everybody  is. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  317 

give  quite  a long  list  of  lowly  members  of  our  menage  who 
were  sent  away  from  Berlin  merely  because  Her  Majesty 
thought  their  nose  too  finely  modelled,  their  bust  too 
prominent,  or  their  hair  too  luxurious.  All  the  unhappy 
traits  Thackeray  ascribes  to  Queen  Charlotte  are  brought 
into  play  when  Auguste  Victoria’s  jealousy  is  aroused. 
She  becomes  invincible  in  matters  of  etiquette,  and  angry 
with  her  people  who,  in  the  service,  suffer  ill-health. 
A pin  out  of  place,  or  a moment’s  absence  from  duty, 
throws  her  into  a towering  passion  on  such  occasions.  She 
is  unkind,  unjust,  and  not  above  excusing  her  hatred  of 
poor  sinners,  such  as  we  all  are,  by  religious  scruples.  At 
all  times  the  Kaiserin  is  a much  more  gracious  mistress  to 
homely  dependents  of  her  own  sex  than  to  good-looking 
ones ; and  when  they  are  old,  into  the  bargain,  she  can  be 
really  delightful  to  them. 

“Why,  this  is  not  the  Court  my  father  and  uncles  have 
been  telling  me  about,”  said  the  present  Emperor  of 
Russia,  then  Czarovitch,  to  the  Duke  of  Schleswig,  when 
he  visited  Berlin  a year  before  Czar  Alexander’s  death. 
“At  home  they  talked  quite  enthusiastically  of  beauties 
that  basked  in  the  shadow  of  the  Prussian  throne,  and 
whom  the  old  Queen  and  Princesses  were  generous  enough 
to  countenance.” 

“Yes,  yes,”  laughed  His  Highness,  “that  is  one  of 
‘Dona’s’  weak  points.  She  will  not  suffer  a handsome 
face  and  figure  within  ten  miles  of  her  house.  It  has 
always  been  a wonder  to  me  why  she  keeps  Bassewitz.” 

“Perhaps  to  prove  the  rule,”  suggested  Nicholas,  and 
Gunther,  who  is  not  endowed  with  a surplus  of  sense, 
thought  the  remark  brilliant  enough  to  circulate  it  among 
all  his  intimates. 

Like  Nicholas,  many  other  visitors  deplore  the  new  state 
of  things,  and  rave  rapturously  of  old  times  when  Emperor 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


318 

William  the  First’s  hospitable  board  and  ball-room  were 
graced  by  such  perfect  belles  as  the  Countesses  Schimmel- 
mann  and  Munster,  while  his  sister-in-law,  the  Princess 
Charles,  successively  engaged  as  maids  of  honor  the  fairest 
of  the  fair  the  Fatherland  produced,  chief  among  them  the 
late  Countess  Seydwietz,  ‘^Fifi,”  as  she  was  affectionately 
called.  Her  Ladyship  was  the  idol  of  the  great  world,  and 
as  fond  of  the  King  and  his  fine  cavaliers  as  they  were  of 
her.  Ah,  the  sighing  and  cursing  that  went  on,  when  at 
last  she  married  her  dashing  chef  d'  esc adr on  of  the  Garde 
du  Corps f Count  Donhoff ! Beautiful  Rose  von  der  Schu- 
lenburg,  the  Countess  Biinau,  she  of  the  far-famed  Titian 
locks,  and  Mira,  Countess  von  Schlippenbach,  young, 
lovely,  and  an  adept  in  every  ladies’  sport,  are  not  yet 
forgotten,  either.  Their  successors  in  official  positions — 
Fraulein  von  Gersdorff  and  the  Countess  Keller,  Her  Maj- 
esty’s favorite  maids  of  honor — are  notable  only  for  their 
plainness,  and  both  are  several  years  older  than  Auguste 
Victoria.  When  their  younger  colleague.  Countess  von 
der  Schulenburg,  resigned  some  two  years  ago  to  marry 
Count  Piickler,  the  grand-mistress  and  her  venerable  adju- 
tants tried  their  best  to  give  the  place  to  another  old  maid, 
or  ‘^remote  virgin,”  as  the  Berliner  says;  but  His  Majesty 
put  his  foot  down,  and  declared  that  he  had  enough  “old 
iron  ’ ’ in  the  house,  and  that  the  new-comer  must  be  young 
and  charming.  So  Marie  Bassewitz  was  selected  for  the 
post.  She  possesses  youth  and  good  looks,  as  the  Kaiser 
demanded,  but  the  Empress  is  not  jealous  of  her:  Her 
Ladyship’s  hands  are  far  from  beautiful. 

At  the  time  of  the  Medical  Congress  in  Berlin,  in  1891, 
Her  Majesty  granted  an  audience  to  a number  of  the  visit- 
ing y^sculapSj  and  a chamberlain  of  the  Empress  Frederick, 
sitting  near  them  at  the  table- d'hote  in  the  Hotel  de  Rome 
the  same  afternoon,  witnessed  the  following  conversation : 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  319 

**  Have  you  ever  seen  a richer  apparelled  and  homelier 
lot  of  women  than  the  entourage  of  Her  Majesty  of  Ger- 
many?” asked  one  of  the  gentlemen,  a celebrated  Moscow 
surgeon. 

None  of  them  had. 

At  last  a little  man  with  coal-black  eyes  and  a scraggy, 
shoe-string  moustache  spoke  up.  ^‘Yes,”  he  said,  in  the 
choicest  pigeon  English, — ‘^at  the  drawing-room  of  the 
Queen  of  Corea.  They  were  dirtier,  too.”  The  speaker 
was  a Japanese. 

When  this  story  came  to  His  Majesty’s  ears,  he  hawked 
it  about  for  many  days  at  second  breakfast,  dinner  and 
supper,  in  the  adjutant’s  room,  in  the  parlor  and  audi- 
ence-chamber, pronouncing  it  the  cleverest  thing  out, — 
under  his  breath,  of  course,  for  it  was  to  be  kept  from  the 
Empress. 

This  is  a sample  of  the  treatment  the  Kaiser  metes  out 
to  his  wife’s  ladies.  He  seems  to  take  a fiendish  delight  in 
teasing  the  ^‘old  guard,”  and  only  occasionally  has  a good 
word  to  say  to  Countess  Bassewitz.  Fraulein  von  Gers- 
dorff,  who  grows  stouter  as  she  grows  older,  often  serves 
as  a target  for  the  Emperor’s  wit.  ■ So  he  insisted,  at  the 
decoration  of  the  Christmas-trees  in  1894,  that  the  Gers- 
dorff  mount  a step-ladder  and  fasten  a papier-mache  angel 
on  top  of  the  tree.  Naturally,  my  fat  friend  did  not  care 
to  expose  herself — and  her  limbs,  and  offered  many  excuses 
with  her  profoundest  courtesies,  but  the  Kaiser  cut  her  short 
with  a brusque  know  you  are  bow-legged;  let  the  Ram- 
mer diener  climb  up.” 

On  another  occasion  (it  was  before  the  advent  of  Countess 
Bassewitz)  the  Kaiserin  said  one  evening  when  the  Court 
was  assembled  in  the  Tassen  Zimmer  to  kill  the  hours  that 
intervened  between  after  supper  and  bedtime  with  the  usual 
dreary  conversation ; I wonder  why  none  of  my  ladies 


320 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


marry.  Perhaps  they  do  not  go  out  enough.  What  do 
you  think,  Willie?” 

Pshaw!”  answered  the  Emperor,  gruffly,  think 
these  ladies  have  all  the  freedom  they  want.  Why  cannot 
they  get  husbands  ? Ask  the  next  best  looking-glass.  ’ ’ 
These  pleasantries  were  offered  before  the  anonymous 
letter  scandal  had  driven  the  few  handsome  or  clever 
women  belonging  to  Court  society,  though  not  to  the 
Court,  to  other  cities  or  to  the  country;  that  is,  before 
Countess  Hohenau,  Madame  von  Kotze,  Madame  de  Pana- 
fiel,  and  the  Baroness  von  Leipziger  had  permanently  re- 
tired. The  quartet  did  not  comprise  the  whole  royal  set, 
of  course ; Countess  Marianne  Dohna,  Madame  von  Alvens- 
leben,  the  Countesses  Kanitz  and  Wedell,  Baroness  von 
Arnim  and  the  Countess  Nemes  von  Hidv^g,  not  forgetting 
a host  of  princely  dames,  distant  relatives  of  the  Hohen- 
zollerns  and  Schleswigs,  have  both  youth  and  beauty ; but 
none  of  them  ever  belonged  to  the  inner  circle.  They 
call  and  dance  at  Court,  are  dined  and  banqueted,  some 
of  the  favored  ones,  especially  the  wives  and  daugh- 
ters of  high  army  officers,  like  Madame  von  Sick,  nee 
Countess  Schlieben,  Madame  von  Pliiskow,  and  Made- 
moiselle von  Albedyll,  daughter  of  His  Majesty’s  adjutant- 
general,  ride  to  the  hounds  in  the  royal  preserves  occa- 
sionally; yet  none  of  these  ladies  ever  enjoyed  the  Kaiser’s 
favor,  none  of  them  ever  became  William’s  “Spezi,’' ^ as 
the  Viennese  say.  Perhaps  that  term  did  not  apply  to 
Madame  von  Leipziger’ s actual  relations  to  the  Kaiser, 
either;  but  I know  it  from  his  own  lips  that  he  admired 
this  charming  though  plain  woman,  and  would  have  gladly 
given  her  a position  at  Court  if  Her  Majesty  had  permitted 
it.  Of  the  other  ^‘Spezts,^^  Madame  von  Kotze  was  for 


^ This  is  an  abbreviation  of  special,  special  friend,  chum. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


321 


years  the  favorite,  if  I may  use  that  word  in  its  broadest 
sense,  without  asserting  too  much.  William  first  took  her 
up  in  the  beginning  of  the  eighties,  when  his  marriage  to 
Auguste  Victoria  “made  him  hungry  for  the  society  of  a 
clever  and  audacious  woman,  ’ ’ as  Count  Herbert  Bismarck 
once  expressed  himself. 

“ He  has  engaged  a Marechale  de  Prusse  for  his  awk- 
ward better-half,”  continued  His  Excellency,  with  a sneer- 
ing allusion  to  the  bargain  enacted  between  Du  Barri  and 
Madame  La  Marechale  de  Mirepoix  (who,  for  a considera- 
tion of  a hundred  thousand  francs  per  annum,  taught  the 
gorgeous  scarlet  woman  the  ways  of  polite  society),  “and 
the  Countess  does  it  all  for  the  love  of  Christ,  or  pour  le  roi 
de  Prusse j which  is  the  same  thing.  ^ Now  he  wants  some- 
body to  make  him  forget  the  ennui  that  reigns  in  his  palace.  ’ ’ 

And  Madame  von  Kotze,  I should  judge,  was  just  the 
woman  to  do  it. 

To  her,  Auguste  Victoria  referred  when  she  charged  His 
Majesty  with  a weakness  for  Jewesses,  though  it  goes  with- 
out saying  that  Her  Ladyship  does  not  belong  to  the 
socially  proscribed  race.  She  only  looks  as  if  she  did. 
And  another  thing, — there  is  something  lacking  in  her 
maiden  name.  Not  the  “von,”  oh,  dear,  no!  Without 
that,  she  would  be  nobody,  “she  would  hardly  be  born  at 
all.”  On  finir ait  done  par  s* encanaillerP  if  people  of  in- 
sufficient birth  were  received  at  Court.  But  being  a von 
Treskow,  she  spells  her  name  without  the  Olympian  “c.” 
In  other  words,  she  is  a “false  Treskow.”  The  old  feudal 


^ Prince  William  asked  his  wife’s  aunt,  the  wife  of  General  Count 
Waldersee,  to  chaperon  his  wife  and  initiate  her  into  the  world  of 
society  shortly  after  his  marriage. 

’ “We  should  end  by  landing  ourselves  in  the  gutter,” — an  expres- 
sion m vogue  among  German  uppertendom. 


322 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


family  spells  its  name  von  Tresckow.  There  are  rumors 
that  her  papa  exchanged  the  three  letters  ‘^von”  for 
three  “ooo’s’’  coupled  with  the  single  figure  ‘^5.”  I 
believe  the  late  Duke  of  Coburg  obliged  him ; but  Queen 
Victoria’s  brother-in-law,  the  great  peer-maker  of  the 
Fatherland,  was,  of  course,  unable  to  supply  the  missing 
letter  “c,”  which  reminds  one  of  James  the  First’s  bon- 
mot : “I  can  make  a lord,  but  not  a gentleman.” 

‘‘Do  not  let  that  worry  you,  my  dear  Leberecht,”  said 
the  Princess  of  Meiningen  to  Madame  von  Kotze’s  hus- 
band, then  her  brother’s  friend  and  master  of  ceremonies; 
“your  wife  may  be  a real  Treskow  with  the  ‘c’  after  all. 
Her  grandfather,  you  see,  may  have  been  the  natural  son 
of  one  of  the  old  lords,  who  gave  him  his  name  without 
the  title.  ’ ’ 

“Does  that  ever  happen?”  asked  Kotze,  who  is  not 
noted  for  any  brilliancy  or  quickness  of  perception. 

“Yes,  indeed,”  laughed  Her  Royal  Highness, — “only 
the  other  day  I read  that  when  my  ancestress.  Princess 
Amalia,  was  Abbess  of  Quedlinburg,  she  owned  a town 
named  Pickelsheim,  near  Paderborn,  whose  two  thousand 
inhabitants  were  all  called  Spiegel,  Barons  and  Baronesses 
von  Spiegel,  and  Herren  and  Fraum  and  boys  and  girls 
Spiegel,  the  first  being  the  legitimate  descendants  of  the 
noble  lords  residing  in  the  manor-house,  the  other  the 
offspring  of  left-hand  alliances,  or  even  less  ceremonious 
intercourse.  At  Pickelsheim  the  sisters  of  full-blown  Baron- 
esses von  Spiegel,  whom  birth  entitled  to  canonships  and 
similar  benefits,  served  as  dairy-maids  in  their  Other’s 
stable,  and  in  1748  it  was  a grave  question  in  that  neigh- 
borhood whether  the  office  of  town-shepherd  should  be 
given  to  a broken-down  von  Spiegel  or  a sturdy  Spiegel.  ’ ’ 

This  information  pleased  poor,  hare-brained  Leberecht, 
but  failed  to  reconcile  Her  Majesty  and  the  rest  of  the 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HiS  CONSORT  323 

exclusive  set  as  to  Madame  von  Kotze’s  pedigree.  They 
fought  the  “Hungarian  pork-raiser’s  daughter,”  as  some 
one  had  dubbed  her,  in  the  salon,  the  menage,  on  the 
slippery  parquet  of  the  royal  ball-room,  wherever  she 
showed  her  saucy,  piquant  face.  Ah,  that  face ! It  was 
not  broad  and  placid ; her  fine,  white  shoulders  were  not 
quite  fleshy  enough  to  suit  the  Teuton  female  critic.  And 
she  has  black,  curly  hair,  the  Kaiser’s  favorite  that  was ! 
That  is  almost  a crime ; for  are  not  Her  Majesty  and  her 
friends  blondes,  and  is  he  himself  not  rather  carroty,  and 
therefore  naturally  inclined  to  dote  on  brunettes? 

However,  the  royal  lady’s  contemptuous  treatment  of  the 
object  of  her  jealousy,  the  scenes  the  Kaiserin  made  for 
William,  and  the  pin-thrusts  of  coroneted  envy  were  alike 
powerless  to  bring  about  a change  in  the  relations  between 
Madame  von  Kotze  and  the  sovereign,  though  the  battle 
raged  for  ten  years  or  longer.  His  Majesty  made  it  plain 
that  he  liked  Madame  von  Kotze,  and  she  was,  conse- 
quently, a conspicuous  figure  at  all  entertainments,  stately 
and  of  a semi-private  nature.  Being  the  wife  of  one  of 
the  high  Court  functionaries,  the  missing  “c”  in  her 
maiden  name  was  generously  ignored,  and  the  “pork- 
raiser’s  daughter”  sat  at  the  same  table  with  crowned 
heads  and  the  proud  possessors  of  sixteen  or  thirty-two 
quarterings  of  nobility.  More  than  once  the  Emperor 
himself  took  Her  Ladyship  into  dinner,  and  at  informal 
suppers,  after  musicales  or  similar  excuses  for  organized 
ennui.  His  Majesty  never  failed  to  “command”  Her  Ex- 
cellency to  his  table.  On  such  occasions  the  Emperor  and 
Empress  invite  their  company  by  sending  a page  to  the 
favored  ones.  Her  Majesty  selecting  the  men,  and  the 
Kaiser  the  ladies,  who  are  most  to  their  liking. 

At  the  Court  balls  Her  Ladyship  was  likewise  much 
in  evidence.  Being  rich  in  her  own  right,  and  having 


324 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


increased  her  fortune  enormously  by  marriage,  madame 
ranks  as  one  of  the  smartest  dressers,  and  envy  must  grant 
that  she  has  lovely  shoulders  and  a superbly-chiselled 
bosom.  She  is  a good  talker,  quick  at  repartee,  and  full 
of  Gallic  wit. 

‘‘Your  Royal  Highness’s  inspecteuse  des  jambes  reports 
for  duty.”  With  these  words,  Madame  von  Kotze  greeted 
Prince  William  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  carnival 
ball  of  1886,  as  he  stood  conversing  with  some  dowagers 
on  the  steps  of  the  throne  in  the  White  Hall. 

I should  not  believe  it  possible,  had  I not  heard  the 
words  myself;  still,  I confess  the  jolly  mockery  of  the 
woman’s  voice,  the  innocent  look  on  her  face  took  away 
much  of  the  coarseness  of  the  expression. 

William  had  seemingly  not  been  in  the  happiest  of  moods 
until  then.  At  the  approach  of  Madame  von  Kotze,  his 
face  lit  up,  and,  taking  the  pretty  woman’s  arm,  he  bowed 
with  a little  sneer  before  the  elder  ladies  as  he  withdrew 
with  his  fair  escort. 

jambes  ou  la  main  gauche?"'^  exclaimed  one  of 
the  grand  dames  quite  audibly  as  she  followed  the  pair  with 
her  eyes.  “ Calm  yourself,  madame,”  I thought ; “ Prince 
William  has  nothing  in  common  with  his  ancestor  ^ who 
was  forever  rolling  between  the  nuptial  couch  and  the 
alcove,  or  kept  these  establishments  side  by  side,  snapping 
his  fat  fingers  at  those  who  talked  of  bigamy.  He  loves  to 


^ “ Legs,  or  the  left  hand  ? ’ ’ Morganatic  marriages  are  called  mar- 
riages by  the  left  hand  in  Germany. 

® Frederick  William  II  of  Prussia  openly  married  Countess  Doen- 
hoff,  and,  after  her,  several  other  women  during  the  life-time  of  his 
second  queen,  Frederika.  The  children  of  this  marriage,  which  took 
place  in  1791,  were  styled  Counts  and  Countesses  of  Brandenburg. 
Queen  Frederika  lived  until  1805,  and  was  never  divorced.  Countess 
Doenhoff  survived  her  twenty-nine  years. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


325 


be  amused,  and  cares,  perhaps,  not  overmuch  for  his  wife’s 
feelings;  but  his  sweet  egotism,  for  one  thing,  will  keep 
him  out  of  morganatic  troubles.” 

And  so  they  strolled  along,  he  in  his  gold-braided  Hussar 
uniform,  the  fur-edged  attila  over  his  shoulder  to  hide  his 
poor  left  hand;  the  woman,  who  set  herself  the  task  of 
amusing  the  King,  walking  briskly  by  his  side  in  her  radiant 
young  beauty,  laughing  and  gesticulating. 

‘‘An  oriental  face,”  said  the  Prince  von  Salm-Horstmar, 
and  a dozen  people  seconded  His  Grace’s  remark.  It  was 
all  over  the  brilliant  hall,  with  its  crystal  chandeliers  and 
purple  and  gold  hangings,  lit  up  by  thousands  of  wax  can- 
dles. “ An  oriental  face, — but  so  was  that  of  Cleopatra.” 
The  simile  was  far-fetched.  Where  was  the  Caesar,  and 
where  was  Antony,  not  to  mention  Caesar  Junior?  The 
couple  walked  through  all  the  rooms  quite  alone,  for  His 
Royal  Highness  had  hinted  to  his  adjutants  that  they 
were  de  trop.  At  supper,  in  the  Koniginnen  Zimmer^  I 
was  seated  at  the  table  reserved  for  the  Princess  Im- 
perial, who,  however,  had  decided  to  go  home  at  the  last 
moment.  Near-by  was  Prince  William’s  table,  at  which 
Madame  von  Kotze  presided,  and  where  all  the  Princes 
and  “bloods”  present  enjoyed  the  heir  presumptive’s 
hospitality. 

How  they  laughed  and  joked ! “Why  don’t  you  dance? ” 
asked  one  of  the  cavaliers. 

“Because  it  gives  me  palpitations.” 

And  then  somebody  told  the  anecdote  of  Marie  Antoi- 
nette, who,  one  evening,  when  waltzing  at  Petit  Trianon 
with  Count  Dillon,  the  beautiful  Dillon,  as  he  was  called, 
stood  still  and  said:  “You  should  feel  my  heart  beat.” 
That  was  just  what  His  Lordship  wanted  to  do,  and  so, 
tearing  off  his  glove,  he  encircled  the  Queen’s  left  bosom 
with  his  hand. 


326 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


‘^Stop  that!  ” called  Louis  XVI,  who,  as  usual,  was  the 
most  conspicuous  wall-flower  in  the  room.  “You  don’t 
need  to  take  Her  Majesty’s  orders  of  that  sort  verbatim^ 

Of  course  everybody  regretted  not  having  been  an  Eng- 
lishman a hundred  and  more  years  ago, — “an  Englishman 
who  dared  treat  a queen  like  a ballet-girl.” 

“Or  a living  picture,”  cried  Duke  Gunther. 

“Pst ! not  so  loud,”  said  Frau  von  Kotze,  with  a side 
glance  to  another  part  of  the  room,  where  Baroness  von 
Reischach,  nee  Princess  Ratibor,  was  supping  with  the 
Countess  of  Hidveg,  both  stars  of  many  tableaux  vivants. 

“But  your  report,  Madame  inspecteusey'  began  the 
Prince  of  Ratibor,  now  dead,  the  same  who  turned  house- 
breaker for  the  love  of  an  Emperor’s  daughter,  “we  insist 
upon  a report,  and  a minute  one.” 

“Well,”  replied  Madame  von  Kotze,  with  comic  gran- 
dezza,  “we  were  not  overpleased  with  the  new  fashion, 
were  we.  Your  Royal  Highness?” 

Prince  W illiam  nodded.  “Your  Ladyship  will  proceed, ’ ’ 
he  said ; “ do  not  keep  these  studious  young  men  waiting.” 

“As  intimated,”  continued  the  young  woman,  “we 
found  the  present  mode  of  short  dresses  not  very  advan- 
tageous to  our  Christian  purpose.  When  a girl  dances  in 
a long  gown,  she  must  necessarily  raise  her  skirt,  and,  in 
doing  so,  often  displays  more  of  her  hosiery  than  intended. 
This  season  dancers  leave  their  skirts  severely  alone,  and  if 
a man  should  take  hold  of  them,  as  he  is  obliged  to  do 
when  long  trains  are  worn,  Baron  von  Richthofen  would  be 
called  into  requisition,  I am  afraid.” 

“Then  you  have  seen  nothing?  ” 

“Not  much  in  the  line  of  calves,”  said  the  Prince. 

“You  talk  like  a butcher.  In  England  no  one  looks  for 
calves.  A pretty  ankle  is  the  thing  there.”  This  from  the 
Duke  of  Schleswig. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


327 


Madame  von  Kotze,  perceiving  that  William  was  about 
to  reply  angrily,  quickly  added:  “But  His  Royal  High- 
ness discovered  some  exquisitely-shaped  hands  among  the 
debutantes.  ’ ’ 

You  may  be  sure  Princess  William  learned  all  about  this 
talk,  and  perhaps  a little  more  than  was  actually  spoken, 
but  to  no  other  purpose  than  to  instil  impotent  rage  in  the 
unhappy  mother’s  bosom  and  make  her  even  more  suspicious 
of  and  disagreeable  to  good-looking  women  in  and  out  of 
the  palace.  One  of  the  chief  agitators  against  Madame  von 
Kotze,  and  every  other  handsome  face,  for  that  matter,  was 
the  grand-mistress.  Countess  Brockdorff,  who  once  betrayed 
her  practices  to  the  amusement  of  the  whole  Court.  Shortly 
after  we  had  moved  from  Potsdam  to  the  Berlin  Schloss 
in  the  winter  of  1894,  an  informal  note  addressed  by  the 
Countess  to  Her  Majesty  fell  into  the  hands  of  one  of  the 
House-marshals.  It  happened  in  this  way : Her  Majesty 
is  in  the  habit  of  writing  orders  and  complaints,  intended 
for  the  officials,  on  small  bits  of  paper  which  she  tears 
from  a block.  Now,  Her  Excellency’s  note  happened  to 
be  written  on  a similar  sheet,  and  so  it  got  mixed  with  the 
rest. 

The  note  contained  the  names  of  persons  who  had 
handed  in  requests  for  audience.  Last  on  the  list  was  the 
name  of  Madame  von  Kotze,  and  opposite  it  the  remark, 
three  times  underlined  : ‘ ‘ Refused.  ’ ’ Then  followed  this 
sentence  : ^^Ende  gut,  A lies  gut.  Allerunterthdnigst,  gute 
Nacht.  (Signed)  Theresa  Brockdorff.”  ^ 

Of  course,  this  note,  indicating  exactly  how  the  wind 
was  blowing  in  the  upper  regions,  had  no  sooner  been 
read  in  the  marshal’s  office  than  its  contents  were  on 


^ “All’s  well  that  ends  well.  Good-night,  from  your  most  submis- 
sive Theresa  Brockdorff.” 


328  PRIVATE  LIVES  OF  WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 

everybody’s  lips.  Most  of  the  courtiers  were  honest  enough 
to  see  the  point  of  the  attack  (for,  after  all,  the  mixing  up 
of  papers  was  not  wholly  accidental) ; but  the  Schrader 
faction,  that  is,  the  friends  of  Master  of  Ceremony  von 
Schrader,  the  same  who  was  afterward  shot  and  killed  by 
von  Kotze,  would  not  have  it  so.  They  insisted  that  there 
was  some  mysterious  connection  between  the  refusal  of 
audience  and  the  anonymous  letters. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


It  took  the  camarilla  ten  years  to  dislodge  Madame  von 
Kotze,  a long  space  of  time  even  for  Germany,  but  it 
must  be  remembered  that  Her  Ladyship  was  not  the  only 
favorite.  There  were  more  thorns  pricking  the  imperial 
flesh,  so  that  the  efforts  of  Auguste  Victoria’s  champions 
were  necessarily  divided.  Charlotte,  Countess  von  Hoh- 
enau,  was  second  on  the  list  of  charmers  who  boasted 
of  William’s  friendship  without  fear  of  compromising  her 
position. 

This  young  noblewoman,  the  daughter  of  a rich  land- 
owner,  Herr  von  der  Decken,  became  the  Kaiser’s  cousinc- 
german  by  her  marriage  to  the  son  of  his  great  uncle. 
Prince  Albert  of  Prussia.  Prince  Albert’s  first  wife  was 
Marianne  of  the  Netherlands,  who  brought  him  an  enor- 
mous fortune,  and  whom  he  divorced  in  1849  because  of  her 
intimacy  with  his  riding-master.  This  latter  was  a brute, 
and  Marianne  never  had  a quiet  moment  during  his  life. 
After  the  divorce  the  unequal  pair  resided  at  Her  High- 
ness’s castle,  Kamentz,  in  Silesia,  and  the  ex-hostler  used 
to  whip  his  royal  mistress  mercilessly,  while  she  fed  him 
on  the  fat  of  the  land.  When  at  last  he  succumbed  to  his 
unwonted  diet,  poor  Marianne  took  another  lease  of  life. 
She  died  in  1883,  seventy-three  years  old. 

Four  years  after  his  divorce.  Prince  Albert  married 
Rosalie  de  Rauch,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons,  William  and 
Fritz,  who  were  created  Counts  von  Hohenau  and  became 

329 


330 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


respectable  members  of  Berlin  society.  The  elder,  Wil- 
liam, a major  in  the  Garde  du  Corps^  is  now  married  to  a 
daughter  of  the  Duke  d’Ujest,  whereby  he  improved  upon 
his  relationship  to  the  Kaiser  by  becoming  cousin-german 
to  Her  Majesty  too.  However,  by  the  grace  of  his  wife’s 
beauty,  Fritz  is  the  best  known  of  the  brothers,  and  his 
fortune,  augumented  by  the  von  der  Decken  millions,  is 
the  amplest. 

The  Hohenaus,  all  of  them,  men  and  women,  were  much 
befriended  by  the  old  Emperor,  and  Count  William  came 
near  inveigling  Frederick  HI  to  revive  in  his  favor  the 
name  and  title  borne  by  the  morganatic  wife  of  Frederick 
William  HI,  the  Countess  Harrach.  He  would  be  Prince 
of  Liegnitz  to-day,  had  the  late  Emperor  been  able  to  sign 
the  piece  of  parchment  setting  forth  the  creation  during 
the  last  days  of  his  illness.  The  present  Kaiser  never 
cared  much  for  the  ‘‘left-handed  brood,”  as  he  called 
his  cousins,  with  the  pride  of  the  “regularly  born,”  but 
when  he  returned  in  October,  1892,  from  his  hunting-trip 
to  the  Principality  of  Pless,  all  this  was  changed. 

He  had  seen  his  “loveliest  and  most  piquant  of  cou~ 
sines,''  and  was  now  convinced  that  Frederick  the  Great’s 
mot  was  true,  viz.  : that  a “dash  of  plebeian  blood  here 
and  there  improves  a royal  race.  ’ ’ 

“ Of  whom  are  you  talking,  pray?”  asked  the  Empress, 
across  the  table,  moving  uncomfortably  in  her  seat.  “I 
did  not  know  any  of  our  set  were  invited.” 

“ I had  the  pleasure  of  referring  to  Fritz  Hohenau’s 
wife.” 

“ Oh,  that  woman.  She  is  a gamekeeper’s  daughter,  or 
something  of  that  sort,  is  she  not  ? ’ ’ 

The  Emperor  paid  no  attention  to  this  sally.  “Eulen- 
burg,”  he  addressed  the  grand-master,  “I  will  go  over  the 
list  of  this  season’s  guests  with  you  presently.”  And  from 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


331 


that  day  on  Countess  Fritz  had  to  be  treated  as  persona 
gratissima  by  everybody  in  the  royal  service  for  two  years 
to  come. 

This  vivacious  woman  introduced  her  pleasing  presence 
on  every  occasion  when  the  Emperor  personally  or  the 
Court  played  a part.  She  rode,  hunted,  and  skated  with 
us;  she  played  tennis,  and  went  coaching  with  His  Maj- 
esty; she  danced  more  gracefully  than  a respectable  woman 
should  at  the  gorgeous  Court  balls  and  at  our  stupid  this 
dansants.  More  often  than  not,  Her  Majesty  returned 
from  the  riding-school,  where  she  had  gone  for  exercise, 
with  red  eyes.  ^^That  woman  was  there, — on  a horse  ten 
times  more  graceful  than  my  own.” 

At  state  dinners  the  newly-found  cousine' s place  was 
near  enough  to  the  royal  arm-chair  to  throw  old  goldsticks 
into  convulsions,  and  on  lesser  occasions  William  often 
conducted  Her  Ladyship  to  table,  while  his  Queen  yawned 
herself  to  death  at  the  side  of  some  crusty  General  or  dolt- 
ish relative.  And  how  Charlotte’s  laughter  rang  out  above 
the  clatter  of  silver  plate  and  the  tinkling  of  bumpers ! 
Wit,  joy,  enthusiasm,  success,  all  crystallized  in  the  tone 
of  that  voice,  which  the  Emperor  admired  so  much,  and 
which  Her  Majesty  likened  to  a chansonnette  singer’s. 
There  were  sycophants,  with  and  without  petticoats,  wLo 
endorsed  this  latter  notion, — a Queen  can  find  people  to 
believe  with  her  in  the  quadrature  of  the  circle, — but 
society  generally  continued  its  good  opinion  of  Countess 
Hohenau  in  the  face  of  calumnies  of  all  sorts.  Indeed, 
the  clever  woman  was  a favorite  everywhere,  and  that  with 
her  youth  and  beauty  she  did  not  capture  the  Kaiser’s  eye 
before  is  really  remarkable.  Maybe  he  avoided  her  on  ac- 
count of  the  Hohenau-Empress-Frederick  entente  cor  diale. 

‘‘His  Majesty  was  the  last  to  mount,”  says  one  of  the 
blue-blooded  participants  of  the  battue  in  Pless.  “We 


332 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


were  awaiting  him  in  the  court-yard,  the  horses  being 
drawn  up  in  a semicircle.  My  immediate  neighbor,  on 
one  side,  was  the  only  lady  in  the  company.  Countess 
Fritz.  She  rode  a long-legged  hunter  of  a peculiar  red 
color,  straddling  the  animal  janibe  de  ga,  jambe  de  Id. 
Her  costume  was  appropriate  to  this  sensational  manoeu- 
vre : short  Russian  trousers  reaching  to  the  knee,  a close- 
fitting  cut-away  velvet  coat  over  a red  vest  and  shirt,  the 
latter  partly  hidden  by  a green  tie,  a jaunty  Calabreser 
hat,  and  high  patent-leather  boots  reaching  a little  over 
the  knees  in  front,  but  cut  out  in  the  back,  allowing  the 
upper  part  of  the  silk-stockinged  calf  to  be  seen. 

‘‘As  the  Kaiser  appeared  in  the  door  and  stood  still  a 
moment  to  acknowledge  our  greetings,  his  eyes  caught  the 
parcel  of  sensual  loveliness  at  my  side.  His  face  reddened 
with  pleasure.  Scarcely  was  he  in  the  saddle  when  he 
cried  out : ‘ Cousin  Charlotte,  a word  with  you.’ 

“I  will  bet  my  best  pointer.  Countess  Fritz  had  expected 
the  invitation,”  continued  my  informant,  “but  women  will 
be  actresses,  you  know.  She  played  the  surprised,  the  be- 
wildered. Perfect  horsewoman  that  she  is,  and  capable  of 
subduing  the  most  stubborn  beast  by  the  pressure  of  her  vic- 
torious thighs,  the  fox-mare  got  away  with  her — apparently. 
She  reared,  pawed  the  air,  and  seemed  altogether  unman- 
ageable. Never  saw  anything  better  done  at  Renz’s.^ 

“ Suddenly  a blow  from  Madame ’s  gold-headed  whip  be- 
tween the  horse’s  ears,  and  with  one  leap  the  amazon  was 
at  His  Majesty’s  side.  ‘Well  done,  cousine,'  we  heard 
His  Majesty  say.  They  galloped  ahead,  the  rest  of  us 
following  at  a respectful  distance,  dog-trot  pace.” 

Of  course,  Madame  von  Kotze  was  far  from  pleased  at 
the  advent  of  this  new  star.  Rivalries  were  inevitable 


* Then  the  foremost  circus  of  Germany. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


333 


between  the  royal  favorites,  though  His  Majesty  did  noth- 
ing to  provoke  them,  as  far  as  I could  observe.  Possi- 
bly he  treated  the  Countess  with  a little  more  freedom 
under  his  wife’s  eyes,  utilizing  the  formerly  disputed  rela- 
tionship as  a pretence,  but  in  all  other  respects  Madame 
von  Kotze’s  position  was  unshaken.  She  continued  her 
visits  at  Court  whenever  the  Kaiser  was  at  home,  and 
her  beauty  and  style  caused  Her  Majesty’s  ladies  most 
exquisite  heart-burnings.  Indeed,  Her  Ladyship  angered 
the  dames  more  than  ever  because  of  the  increasing  lux- 
ury of  her  toilets,  for,  woman-like,  she  meant  to  surpass 
Countess  Fritz  by  new  creations  of  the  milliner  and  tailor 
as  well  as  by  mental  and  physical  gifts.  In  this  endeavor 
to  out-Eugenie  Eugenie  the  tongue  of  the  balance  inclined 
now  to  this  side,  now  to  the  other.  I remember  Countess 
Fritz  cutting  out  Her  Excellency  at  the  Schleppen  Cour 
(drawing-room)  of  1893  by  a superb  gown  of  white  gold 
brocade,  edged  with  blue-fox  j but  things  were  evened  up 
when  Master  of  Ceremony  von  Kotze  conducted  Prince 
Albert’s  daughter  to  a fauteuil  in  the  rear  of  the  orchestra 
at  the  gala  opera,  performed  a few  weeks  later,  where  she 
had  to  sit  among  army  officers’  wives  and  ordinary  privy 
councillors. 

My  seat  was  opposite  the  royal  box  on  that  occasion, 
and  if  I live  a hundred  years  I shall  not  forget  the  smile  of 
satisfaction  that  overspread  Auguste  Victoria’s  countenance 
as  she  perceived  her  cousin  in  semi-obscurity.  The  Kaiser 
himself  had  only  a malicious  grin  for  his  uncomfortable 
favorite.  However,  next  day  we  experienced  one  of  those 
intermittent  upheavals  for  which  the  reign  of  William  II  is 
notorious.  This  erratic  monarch  cannot  get  along  without 
rows ; in  his  ministries,  in  parliament,  or  at  home,  some- 
where there  are  always  axes  to  grind.  William  had  enjoyed 
his  cousine's  discomfort  in  the  theatre;  he  had  thought  it 


334 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


funny  to  set  the  two  women  by  the  ears  ” (the  satisfaction 
with  which  Her  Majesty  viewed  the  spectacle  was  likewise 
not  to  be  underestimated) ; but  after  Countess  Fritz,  in  a 
private  audience,  sought  twelve  hours  later,  had  unbosomed 
herself  to  His  Majesty,  all  this  was  changed.  The  master  of 
ceremony  was  ordered  to  explain  the  reason  for  the  unheard- 
of  breach  of  etiquette ; and  his  excuse,  that  Her  Ladyship 
had  arrived  too  late  to  be  ranged  according  to  her  rank,  was 
assiduously  published  in  the  palace,  in  the  salons  and  clubs. 
Then  it  was  given  out  that  His  Majesty  himself  intended 
to  rehabilitate  Countess  Fritz,  and  a banquet  was  forthwith 
held  where  Her  Ladyship  occupied  the  seat  of  honor  on 
the  Emperor’s  right,  while  Madame  von  Kotze  was  placed 
considerably  lower  down  at  the  table.  This  was  accord- 
ing to  “all-highest  orders,”  but,  after  all,  it  is  not  easy  to 
triumph  over  a woman  of  Madame  von  Kotze’s  acumen. 
Her  husband  showed  the  roster  at  home,  of  course,  and 
Her  Ladyship  acquiesced  in  the  new  order  of  things  quite 
gracefully,  it  is  said,  but  insisted  upon  being  given  a place 
where  she  could  watch  His  Majesty  and  the  Countess,  and 
listen  to  the  general  run  of  their  conversation.  That 
this  arrangement,  which  all  thought  natural  enough  at  the 
time,  was  afterward  turned  into  an  argument  for  Herr  von 
Kotze’s  incrimination,  will  be  narrated  in  a later  chapter. 

While  these  rivals  for  royal  favors  were  disporting  their 
anger  and  jealousies  under  Her  Majesty’s  nose,  so  to 
speak,  William  basked  in  the  smiles  of  a very  elegant  lady 
quite  unknown  to  the  Court,  which  affects  to  know  every- 
thing. She  was  Madame,  the  Countess  de  Panafiel,  wife 
of  the  Portuguese  Secretary  of  Legation  in  Berlin,  who  is 
a grandee  in  his  own  country,  but  did  not  amount  to  much 
in  Kaiserin  Augusta  Strasse. 

We  of  the  royal  service  were  favored  with  glimpses  of 
Madame  de  Panafiel’ s great  beauty  only  at  rare  intervals. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


335 


when  state  occasions  or  other  festivities  necessitated  her 
attendance  at  Court.  Oftener  she  was  seen  at  the  opera, 
languorously  reclining  in  her  gilded  arm-chair  over  which 
she  had  thrown  her  mantle  of  ermine, — a queenly  woman, 
queenly  of  the  style  exemplified  by  the  young  Empress  of 
Russia  and  Queen  Marguerite,  for,  with  these  two  excep- 
tions, all  the  women  on  the  thrones  of  Europe  are  either 
homely,  coarse,  passiy  or  too  old  to  be  considered. 

Madame  de  Panafiel  is  not  so  tall  as  the  Empress,  but 
possesses  in  the  highest  degree  that  charm  of  figure  which 
constituted  Auguste  Victoria’s  only  claim  to  beauty  in  the 
past, — a neck  and  shoulders  that  seemed  modelled  by  an 
artist’s  hand  to  support  the  burden  of  crown  jewels.  Add 
to  this  splendid  endowment  lustrous  black  eyes  and  arched 
brows,  a fine  Greek  face,  a noble  carriage,  arms  like  those 
the  Venus  of  Milo  lost,  and  the  most  aristocratic  of  hands, 
and  you  have  a faint  counterfeit  of  this  grand  dame,  who, 
besides,  was  famous  for  her  red  blonde  hair. 

The  relations  between  Madame  de  Panafiel  and  the  Kaiser 
lasted  from  the  beginning  of  1890  till  the  fatal  summer  of 
1894,  when  her  husband  was  suddenly  recalled  to  Lisbon. 
There  was  no  one  more  surprised  at  this  than  the  Emperor, 
who  had  already  lost  Madame  von  Kotze,  and  even  before 
that  he  had  been  obliged  to  sever  the  ties  which  bound  him 
to  Countess  Fritz.  We  were  at  the  Neues  Palais  when  the 
news  reached  my  mistress.  “I  wonder  what  the  Kaiser 
will  say  to  this?  Send  out  to  ask  whether  he  is  in  the 
Vortragszimmery^  she  remarked,  unconcernedly,  though 
the  red  blood  mounted  to  her  cheeks. 

Unhappy  Majesty,  thou  wert  cheated  out  of  a jealous 
woman’s  pleasure  to  rejoice  in  a hated  rival’s  downfall,  to 
feast  thine  eyes  on  a straying  husband’s  disappointment, 
when  he  finds  himself  outgeneralled  (by  his  little  wife,  per- 
haps) ! On  receiving  a telephone  message  of  Panafiel’s 


336 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OP 


recall,  the  Emperor  had  hastened  to  Berlin  to  inquire  into 
the  meaning  of  the  act.  The  Marquis  dePanafiel,  Portu- 
guese Ambassador  and  cousin  of  the  secretary,  could  give 
him  no  satisfaction.  Beyond  the  simple  notification  by  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  he  had  received  no  informa- 
tion from  his  capital.  However,  before  nightfall  a report 
that  Her  Majesty  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  affair  spread  in 
the  palace.  Auguste  Victoria,  it  was  said,  had  stated  her 
grievance  to  the  Queen  of  Italy,  and  the  latter,  a truly 
sympathetic  woman,  had  promised  relief ; a letter  to  that 
effect,  from  Her  Italian  Majesty,  had  been  seen  by  some  one 
in  the  Kaiserin’s  confidence.  Through  King  Umberto,  the 
Empress’s  wish  had  finally  been  communicated  to  Queen 
Maria  Pia,  who  caused  her  son  to  name  Count  Panafiel’s 
successor. 

Madame  von  Leipziger,  the  wife  of  the  former  Court 
cotillion  leader,  retained  the  royal  favor  a little  longer 
than  the  ladies  named;  but  she  is  homely, — a Madame 
de  Stael,  on  a small,  a very  tiny  scale,  rather  than  a Ninon 
de  I’Enclos.  Short,  with  irregular  features  and  a bad  com- 
plexion, this  woman  gained  her  ascendency  over  William 
by  means  similar  to  those  employed  by  Talleyrand  to  secure 
a reputation  as  a wit  and  inventor  of  bonmots.  As  the  ex- 
bishop of  Autun  was  never  long  without  his  ^‘breviary,” 
the  ^^Improvisateur  frangaisy'  a many-volumed  collec- 
tion of  anecdotes  and  smart  sayings,  so  was  Madame 
von  Leipziger,  while  at  Court,  forever  brooding  over  old 
and  new  volumes  of  magazines,  devoted  to  charades,  puz- 
zles, and  riddles.  She  made  His  Majesty’s  acquaintance 
at  an  early  age,  when  he  was  a student  at  Bonn,  her  birth- 
place, and  knew  and  appreciated  his  passion  for  those  men- 
tal gymnastics  that  are  liable  to  give  conversation  a sheen 
of  esprit.  The  Kaiser,  you  know,  wants  to  do  uncom- 
mon things  all  the  time,  and  where  his  lion’s  skin  fails  to 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


337 


reach,  he  is  content  to  piece  it  out  with  the  fox’s;  in  other 
words,  when  he  finds  it  impossible  to  startle  his  friends 
and  acquaintances  by  grand  schemes,  by  criticisms  of  this, 
or  that,  or  the  other  thing,  by  compositions  in  verse,  or 
prose,  or  of  a musical  character,  he  likes  to  give  proofs  of 
his  ever-ready  alertness  by  proposing  riddles  or  charades, 
which  the  person  who  happens  to  be  on  the  rack  must 
assume  to  be  unable  to  solve,  otherwise  the  imperial  ora- 
cle would  have  to  forego  the  very  pleasure  for  which  the 
comedy  was  arranged, — namely,  to  give  the  Emperor  an 
opportunity  to  boast  of  his  superior  acumen.  It  seemed 
to  be  Madame  von  Leipziger’s  real  object  in  life  to  foster 
this  weakness.  Ever  since  the  kingly  dignity  has  sprung 
into  existence,  there  have  been  royal  favorites,  utilizing 
their  sway  in  various  manners.  Some  inspired  their  lords 
with  good  or  evil  ambitions,  made  them  better  or  worse 
men,  encouraged  or  discouraged  their  inclination  for  mercy 
or  cruelty,  for  art,  the  sciences,  or  literature.  Frau  von 
Leipziger  was  probably  the  first  to  abet  a master’s  dis- 
position to  drive  his  subjects  to  despair  by  more  or  less 
senseless  riddles. 

It  cannot  be  my  purpose  to  weary  the  reader  by  pictur- 
ing the  gloom  the  puzzle-headed  hydra  at  times  cast  over 
our  Court.  The  reptile  of  mythology,  we  learned  at 
school,  had  nine  heads,  *‘each  of  which,  when  cut  off, 
shot  up  into  two  new  ones.”  In  similar  style  Her  Lady- 
ship and  the  Emperor  used  to  launch  forth  new  attacks 
upon  our  good  nature  as  soon  as  we  had  disposed  of  one 
ambiguous  proposition.  But  even  though  Madame  von 
Leipziger’s  relations  to  her  husband  were  of  the  most  in- 
nocent character.  Her  Majesty  disapproved  of  them.  So 
the  news,  gazetted  one  fine  day,  that  Herr  von  Leipziger 
had  resigned  from  the  army,  surprised  no  one,  and  Princess 
Adolph  of  Lippe  voiced  general  opinion  at  Court  when 


338 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


she  said:  ‘‘My  sister-in-law  would  not  have  any  woman 
under  fifty  amuse  the  Kaiser.  ’ ’ 

Thereafter  the  charade-fiend  went  to  live  in  the  country, 
and  we  have  never  been  able  to  discover  whether  the  Em- 
peror’s assertion  that  Madame  von  Leipziger  is  “one  of 
the  most  intellectual  women  of  the  time  ’ ’ is  true  or  not, 
for  the  Court  knew  her  only  in  her  detestable  specialty. 

This  happened,  as  intimated,  in  the  late  summer  of  1894, 
when  Her  Majesty’s  girdle  was  already  hung  with  many 
scalps  of  beaitth.  The  times  change,  and  man  changes 
with  the  times.  The  Kaiser,  who  once  freely  resorted  to 
married  men’s  tricks  to  keep  his  wife  from  interfering  with 
his  private  plans,  now  abandoned,  one  after  another,  the 
women  whose  company  he  had  so  richly  enjoyed. 

“Off  with  her  head, — so  much  for  Hohenau,”  “for 
Kotze,”  “ for  Panafiel,  ” “ for  Leipziger,’’ and — “William 
is  to  die  a good  old  man.”  It  was  certainly  a most  inspir- 
ing spectacle  to  see  this  husband  and  father  return  to  the 
homely  fold  where  petulancy  waits  upon  dreary  languor. 
“But  will  it  last?”  everybody  kept  asking  of  everybody 
else.  And  everybody  answered  : “It  seems  impossible  that 
it  should.”  And  those  of  the  household  who  remembered 
the  circumstances  of  the  royal  visit  to  Dessau,  in  December, 
1889,  C3,n  scarcely  be  blamed  for  being  suspicious. 

Dessau  has  but  a tiny  Court,  consisting  of  a few  “grand 
charges  ” and  two  or  three  dames,  but  the  women  there  re- 
joice in  a well-earned  reputation  for  looseness,  with  which 
a corresponding  amount  of  beauty  goes  hand  in  hand. 
Now,  as  soon  as  my  mistress  learned  of  the  Kaiser’s  pro- 
jected visit  to  that  d^lodez  Sodom,  she  set  to  work  to  pro- 
cure an  invitation  for  herself.  This  was  easily  arranged 
through  the  Princess  Frederick  Charles,  sister  of  the  Duke, 
but  for  quite  a while  His  Majesty  remained  deaf  to  his  wife’s 
hints  and  even  to  direct  requests  to  take  her  along.  Finally, 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


339 


when  Auguste  Victoria  asked  him  in  the  presence  of  his 
aunt,  he  had  to  yield,  and  the  Kaiserin  ordered  a number 
of  fine  dresses  for  the  occasion.  If  the  Dessauerinnen" 
were  really  as  handsome  as  her  husband  claimed,  she  meant 
to  dazzle  them,  at  least,  by  gorgeousness. 

Two  days  before  the  imperial  couple  was  to  start,  the 
Empress  caught  a slight  cold,  but  nobody  thought  any- 
thing of  it,  though  the  Emperor  remarked  once  or  twice 
at  table:  “You  had  better  look  out.  Dona,  or  maybe  you 
cannot  go.”  Her  Majesty  laughed  at  this,  as  we  all  did, 
knowing  how  much  pleasure  our  mistress  expected  from 
the  trip.  There  were  most  elaborate  preparations : Her 
Majesty  was  to  have  a special  car  in  the  5alon-\x2im^  and 
everything  was  to  be  done  on  the  grandest  scale.  Countess 
Brockdorif  and  myself  had  been  ordered  to  accompany  the 
Kaiserin,  and  early  on  the  morning  of  December  4 our 
trunks  (two  full  truck-loads  for  a two-days’  visit)  were 
carted  away  to  the  depot.  At  ten  o’clock  we  all  partook 
of  a hurried  second  breakfast  in  our  travelling  dresses,  and 
that  over.  Her  Excellency  received  orders  to  drive  ahead 
to  the  station,  to  inspect  for  the  last  time  the  apartment 
on  the  train,  while  I went  to  fetch  the  children  who  were 
to  say  good-bye.  Returning  with  the  pretty  youngsters,  I 
found  my  mistress  ready  to  go.  She  looked  very  well, 
indeed,  in  a fur  cape  and  hat,  matching  a superb  costume 
of  green  and  silver. 

While  I was  making  these  observations.  Dr.  Leuthold, 
the  Kaiser’s  physician-general,  entered. 

“So  you  are  to  go  along,  Herr  Doctor.  I am  glad  of 
it,”  cried  the  Empress,  holding  out  her  hand. 

“Well,”  replied  the  medical  man,  “I  am  a sort  of 
necessary  evil,  as  Your  Majesty  knows.”  In  spite  of  this 
semi-jocular  remark,  Leuthold  appeared  embarrassed.  “ If 
it  pleases  Your  Majesty,”  he  continued,  “let  me  see  your 


340 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


tongue.  I will  also  have  to  examine  your  jugular  glands 
once  more.” 

‘‘Nonsense,”  said  the  Empress,  but  at  the  same  time 
she  raised  her  veil  and  stuck  out  her  tongue,  at  which  the 
children  laughed  heartily.  After  a momentary  examina- 
tion, the  physician  pulled  a long  face.  “Thank  God,” 
he  said,  “it  is  not  yet  too  late.” 

“No,  but  it  will  be,  if  you  do  not  hurry,”  interrupted 
the  Crown  Prince.  “ Papa  will  be  here  presently.” 

. Dr.  Leuthold  took  no  notice  of  the  child’s  joke.  “I  per- 
ceive indications  of  an  inflamed  throat  that  may  bring  on 
most  serious  complications,”  he  resumed,  gravely.  “Your 
Majesty  must  go  to  bed  at  once,  and  must  not  leave  the 
house  for  three  days.  In  this  way  the  worst  may  be  fore- 
stalled.” 

“Then  I am  not  going  to  Dessau?”  gasped  Auguste 
Victoria. 

“I  cannot  permit  it,”  answered  Leuthold. 

The  Empress  dropped  into  an  arm-chair  and  began  to 
cry. 

“Is  my  wife  ready?”  It  was  the  Emperor’s  voice  out- 
side. I advanced  toward  him.  “ Has  Leuthold  given  an 
adverse  decision  ? ” he  asked,  before  I had  time  to  explain 
anything.  His  Kammerdiener^  in  black  travelling  livery, 
entered  simultaneously  to  announce  that  the  carriage  was 
waiting. 

“I  am  sorry,”  said  the  Emperor,  stepping  up  to  the 
Kaiserin  and  kissing  her  hand,  “but  you  know  one  cannot 
be  too  careful  of  one’s  throat.”  Then  he  bade  her  and 
the  children  good-bye,  and,  turning  once  more  at  the 
door,  cried:  “I  will  send  back  your  Brockdorif.  She 
shall  keep  you  company.” 

“It  was  all  a deep-laid  plot,  a conspiracy,”  said  Her 
Excellency  afterward.  “When  I arrived  at  the  train.  His 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


341 


Majesty’s  attendants  exchanged  side  glances  among  each 
other  which  convinced  me  that  something  was  up,  and 
when  the  Kaiser  came  and  told  me  to  return  home,  I dis- 
covered that  our  trunks  were  already  on  the  wagons  that 
had  brought  the  hand-baggage  to  the  station.  That  shows 
they  had  never  been  freighted.” 

I remarked  I did  not  believe  His  Majesty  capable  of  such 
trickery. 

Bah ! ” growled  the  Countess,  ^^you  may  take  my 
word  for  it,  my  dear  Eppinghoven,  they  did  not  want  us 
in  Dessau,  where,  I am  told,  corsages  are  worn  as  low  as 
at  the  Court  of  King  Jerome.” 

Not  us,  perhaps,  but  Her  Majesty ” 

The  old  Excellency  shrugged  her  shoulders. 

And  Leuthold  ?” 

^^Is  a man,  and  in  such  affairs  men  stick  to  each  other 
like  glue.  This  amiable  physician -general  was  given  to 
understand  that  the  Kaiser  intended  the  trip  for  a stag 
party.  Hence  the  examination  at  the  hour  of  leaving,  the 
awe-inspiring  prophecies,  and  the  disheartening  verdict.” 

It  is  only  proper  to  add  that  Her  Excellency  was  as 
disappointed  at  the  sudden  set-back  as  Her  Majesty,  for, 
like  most  virtuous  women  of  a certain  age,  she  has  a weak- 
ness for  studying  vice  close  at  hand.  To  know  exactly 
what  iniquity  is,  one  must  not  be  too  far  from  it.  How- 
ever, in  this  particular  case.  Countess  Brockdorff’s  modest 
surmisals  were  well  founded,  as  the  gossip  brought  back 
from  Anhalt  by  the  courtiers  and  adjutants  proved. 

The  Dessau  incident  happened  five  years  previous  to  the 
great  holocaust  of  favorites  already  alluded  to,  and  at  a time 
when  my  mistress  was  almost  continuously  in  a sore  state  of 
agitation  lest  she  should  lose  her  husband’s  love.  Sometimes 
she  chased  after  him  for  days,  following  His  Restlessness  to 
Berlin,  or  to  various  hunting-boxes  in  the  neighborhood, 


342 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


and  we  ladies  had  to  be  prepared  to  spend  our  nights  on 
the  cars,  or  in  the  half-finished  chambers  of  the  Schloss, 
wet  with  paint  and  smelling  of  work-people. 

When  the  Empress  said  : ‘‘I  will  give  audiences  in  Berlin 
to-morrow,”  it  probably  meant  that  she  had  learned  of  His 
Majesty’s  resolve  to  leave  her  bed  and  board  for  a while 
and  enjoy  himself  after  his  own  fashion.  But  the  reception 
accorded  to  our  mistress,  after  we  had  caught  up  with  the 
imperial  runaway,  was  often  far  from  pleasant.  When  sur- 
prised in  Berlin,  the  Emperor  sometimes  bolted  the  conju- 
gal couch  as  early  as  four  or  five  o’clock  in  the  morning  to 
go  on  some  impromptu  hunting  expedition,  hasty  prepara- 
tions for  which  had  been  made  overnight. 

Auguste  Victoria  would  then  receive  a few  notables  at  ten 
in  the  forenoon,  returning  to  the  Neues  Palais  for  lunch, 
and,  perhaps,  take  another  train  for  Berlin  in  the  evening. 
Once  the  Kaiser  vamosed  from  Hubertusstock,  whither 
we  had  followed  him  unbidden.  Going  out  hunting  with 
his  gentlemen  at  early  morn,  he  sent,  at  supper-time, 
when  Her  Majesty  was  expecting  him,  a despatch  saying 
that  business  of  state  had  called  him  to  the  capital.  All 
this  plotting  and  counterplotting,  the  outcome  of  jealousy 
on  general  principles,  as  a clever  woman  once  said,  was 
ridiculous,  wearisome,  exhausting, — but  tame.  More  inter- 
esting became  the  matter  when  a real  woman,  instead  of 
an  imaginary  one,  happened  to  be  in  the  race,  and  such 
a reality  was  and  is  Letizia  Bonaparte,  Dowager  Duchess 
of  Aosta,  the  daughter  of  the  late  Plon-Plon,  and  her 
father’s  true  child. 

Poor  Auguste  Victoria ! if  she  could  have  anticipated  the 
sorry  consequences  of  her  good-natured  decision  to  lodge 
the  ex-King  of  Spain  and  his  blooming  young  niece-wife 
in  the  Fursten  Wohnung  when  they  came  to  Berlin,  in 
November,  1889  ! 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


343 


The  Fursten  Wohnwig,  or  Royal  Suite,  it  should  be  ex- 
plained, is  on  the  same  floors  and  in  the  same  wing  of  the 
Schloss  as  their  Majesties’  own  private  rooms  are.  The 
occupants  of  both  apartments  are  therefore  much  thrown 
together, — in  fact,  they  cannot  help  being  in  each  other’s 
company  at  all  times  of  the  day.  William  had  so  impressed 
his  wife  with  the  imperativeness  of  strengthening  his  rela- 
tions with  King  Umberto,  that  Her  Majesty  could  scarcely 
do  enough  for  her  new  friends.  So  she  gave  them  the 
apartment  reserved  for  the  most  intimate  female  relatives, 
the  one  which  even  Prince  Henry,  the  Kaiser’s  brother, 
has  never  yet  been  allowed  to  occupy. 

Since  then  the  Kaiserin  has  said  a hundred  times:  “If 
I had  possessed  but  an  ounce  of  prognostication,  I would 
have  gone  to  Potsdam  and  made  them  live  in  the  Stadt- 
Schloss.  ’ ’ ^ 

At  the  time  of  this  royal  visit,  the  Duchess  of  Aosta  was 
twenty-two  years  old.  Her  Majesty  was  thirty-one,  the  Duke 
forty-four,  and  the  Emperor  thirty  years ; — these  figures  tell 
the  whole  story.  Letitia  would  not  have  been  the  daughter 
of  that  “carnal  free-trader’’ — the  name  Lord  Palmerston 
gave  to  Plon-Plon — had  she  not  preferred  the  imperial 
blonde  of  thirty  to  her  swarthy  husband,  who  was  twice 
her  age.  And  under  the  influence  of  his  seductive  young 
guest,  William  remembered  all  of  a sudden  that  his  wife  is 
older  than  himself. 

How  far  in  their  love-making  these  reflections  led  Em- 
peror and  Duchess,  I cannot  say ; I am  writing  of  things  I 
have  seen,  and  conjectures  are  odious  where  a woman  is 
concerned ; but  to  complete  my  story  it  is  necessary  to 
add  that  their  Royal  Highnesses  left  somewhat  abruptly, 
ten  hours  before  the  stipulated  time,  and  that  the  Duchess 


'Two  miles  from  the  Neues  Palais. 


344 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


(Amadeo  died  in  the  following  January)  never  obtained 
another  invitation  to  our  Court. 

True,  she  again  visited  Berlin  in  the  beginning  of 
April,  1893,  but  then  the  White  Lady  had  no  occasion  to 
sweep  the  Fiirstentreppe  (royal  staircase)  which  connects 
the  living  and  bed  rooms  of  their  Majesties’  suite  and  the 
Fursten  Wohnung}  Her  Imperial  Highness  travelled  in- 
cognito, which  was  the  best  thing  she  could  do,  consid- 
ering that  Auguste  Victoria  had  refused  to  receive  her. 
Besides,  she  came  as  a petitioner.  The  Kaiser  was  to  in- 
tervene on  her  behalf  with  King  Umberto,  who  had  cut  off 
her  allowance  and  had  refused  to  invite  her  to  his  silver 
wedding  because  of  her  alleged  liaisons  with  half  a dozen 
officers  of  the  Turin  garrison. 

Letitia  and  William  met.  Madonna,  your  every  wish 
is  a command,”  and  forthwith  a cipher  despatch  to  the 
King  of  Italy,  couched  in  the  most  amiable  terms,  issued 
from  the  German  foreign  office.  It  is  further  claimed  that 
the  lovers  promised  themselves  no  end  of  a good  time  two 
weeks  hence,  in  Rome ; but  the  same  day  the  Empress  got 
wind  of  the  arrangement  by  one  of  those  infernal  anony- 
mous communications.  And  in  this  case  the  strictly  moral 
Piedmontese,  who  afterward  obliged  her  again  in  suppress- 
ing Countess  Panafiel,  was  really  delighted  to  do  Her  Maj- 
esty’s bidding,  as  he  told  her  in  person  during  her  stay  at 
the  Quirinal.  To  William  he  telegraphed  that  he  was  not  at 
liberty  to  serve  him,  the  Aosta  business  being  a family  affair 
in  which  Her  Imperial  Highness’s  mother.  Princess  Clo- 
tilde,  had  the  initiative.  At  the  same  hour.  His  Majesty 


^According  to  the  Margravine  of  Baireuth,  this  historic  spectre  served 
to  frighten  away  people  from  a certain  corridor,  which  a General  had 
to  pass  when  he  desired  to  pay  his  nocturnal  respects  to  a certain  maid 
of  honor. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  345 

ordered  his  Berlin  Ambassador  to  conduct  the  Duchess  to 
St.  Moritz. 

That  closed  the  of  William  and  the  Aosta, 

closed  it  the  more  effectually,  as  the  Kaiser,  after  his  return 
from  Italy,  began  to  pay  attentions  to  Madame  Herbette, — 
a circumstance  mentioned  at  length  in  the  fourth  chapter ; 
but  though  there  was  another  daughter  of  La  Belle  France 
in  the  race.  Her  Majesty  has  never  been  able  to  overcome 
her  violent  aversion  to  that  French  woman:  Letitia,  “the 
Bonaparte  with  the  alleged  incomparable  arms  and  hands,” 
as  she  is  wont  to  call  her  in  conversation  with  the  confi- 
dante of  all  her  jealous  troubles.  Countess  Brockdorff.  My 
mistress  cannot  see  a woman  on  a bicycle  without  being 
reminded  of  the  Duchess’s  Turin  escapade  (of  July,  1894), 
in  which  a wheel,  tights,  a bifurcated  skirt,  and  a few 
baskets  of  champagne  played  the  principal  parts,  and  in 
the  same  way  the  picture  of  a female  with  uncovered  arms, 
whether  it  represents  an  actress  or  a goddess,  is  liable  to 
make  her  morose,  for,  as  mentioned  in  the  description  of 
the  Kaiser’s  study,  a portrait  of  the  hated  Princess  exhibit- 
ing her  arms  and  hands  to  perfection  is  always  on  his  desk. 

With  this  latter  arrangement,  that,  by  the  way,  extends 
to  His  Majesty’s  special  train  and  yacht,  Auguste  Victoria 
dare  not  interfere  (“Do  not  charge  my  brother  with  amour 
azoophilique^  whatever  you  do,”  said  Princess  Charlotte  to 
her,  when  the  matter  was  discussed  on  petit  cercle')^  but  her 
morbid  sensitiveness  leads  her  to  attempt,  at  least,  an  oc- 
casional curtailment  of  William’s  picture-worship.  Every 
time  the  Court  goes  to  the  Schloss  or  some  other  castle  for 
a few  days  the  Emperor  wants  his  private  gallery,  consist- 
ing of  framed  and  un framed  photographs,  moved  and  set 
up  for  the  time  being  in  the  study  he  temporarily  oc- 
cupies. This,  then,  is  Her  Majesty’s  opportunity.  She 
always  selects  the  pictures  that  shall  be  packed  and  orders 


346 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


the  mistress  of  the  household  to  take  no  others.  That 
Letitia’s  effigy  is  never  taken  along  on  these  trips  hardly 
needs  special  mention,  and  that  its  absence  from  the  im- 
perial secretaire  is  a source  of  grim  satisfaction  to  Her 
Majesty  is  quite  self-evident,  but  woe  to  the  poor  house- 
keeper when  the  Emperor  observes  the  omission. 

As  the  visit  of  the  King  of  Roumania  was  expected  on  ’ 
October  25,  1891,  the  Hof  went  to  the  Schloss  a few  days 
before.  Now  it  happened  that  Madame  von  Larisch,  after 
repeatedly  suffering  the  Emperor’s  displeasure  on  account 
of  the  absence  of  certain  photographs,  had  decorated  the 
master’s  Berlin  writing-table  exactly  as  it  was  in  Potsdam : 
with  pictures  of  royal  women  and  girls  in  all  sorts  of 
dress  and  courtly  undress,  chief  among  them  a very  life- 
like portrait  of  the  Aosta  which,  indeed,  assisted  imagina- 
tion to  an  almost  flagitious  extent.  To  see  this  sinful 
pasteboard  and  confiscate  it  was  a matter  of  impulse  with 
the  Empress  when  she  inspected  the  room ; but  as,  at 
the  same  moment.  Court-marshal  von  Liebenau  was  an- 
nounced to  make  his  report,  what  was  Her  Majesty  to 
do?  The  portrait  was  too  big  to  slip  within  the  folds  of 
her  dress,  and  to  hold  it  in  her  hand  during  the  inevitable 
half-hour’s  lecture  would  have  been  awkward.  So  she  had 
to  put  the  picture  back  in  its  place  with  the  galling  knowl- 
edge that  Liebenau,  as  well  as  her  own  Kammerdiener,  had 
observed  her  jealous  action. 

The  Kaiserin  had  a similar  mortifying  experience  in 
April,  1893,  when  the  Duchess  of  Aosta  was  in  Berlin. 
On  a certain  morning,  the  Kaiser  having  suddenly  left 
to  drive  into  the  city, — “probably  to  a rendezvous  with 
that  woman,” — Her  Majesty  went  to  look  for  possible 
incriminating  letters  on  William’s  desk,  and  as  she  was 
bending  over  a pile  of  correspondence,  the  Master  of  the 
Wardrobe,  Herr  Fellbach,  entered  to  remove  the  Kaiser’s 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


347 


fatigue-jacket.  When  discovered,  Her  Majesty  drew  her- 
self up  and  asked  the  man  angrily  what  he  meant  by  play- 
ing the  spy  on  her,  thereby  letting  the  cat  out  of  the  bag. 
Quite  naturally  the  Garderobier  defended  himself,  and,  re- 
ceiving more  abuse  for  his  trouble,  went  to  his  superiors 
for  justification  and  counsel.  So  the  story  spread  all  over 
the  Schloss,  but  as  an  offset  Her  Majesty  complained  to  the 
Kaiser,  and  William  treated  his  old  servant  with  unusual 
severity  for  quite  a while. 

Nowadays  His  Majesty  has  become  a specialist  as  far  as 
women  are  concerned.  He  has  not  done  entirely  with 
Venus  Vulvivaga,  or,  to  speak  more  to  the  point,  Venus 
Vulgaris,  but  most  of  his  latter-day  amours  are  on  the  order 
which  one  of  Napoleon’s  biographers  characterizes  in  this 
succession  of  exclamations : 

“ Emperor  : ‘ Send  for  Mademoiselle  So-and-So  ! ’ 

“ ( Half  an  hour  later).  ‘ Bid  her  wait.’ 

“ ^ Order  her  to  disrobe  ! ’ 

Tell  her  to  go  to  the  devil ! ’ ” 

The  veiled  lady  who  steals  into  the  Kaiser’s  cabinet,  his 
private  train  or  yacht,  is  a living,  breathing  reality ; but 
these  seekers  of  profitable  dishonor  scarcely  count,  as  they 
do  not  enter  into  the  inner  life  of  the  man  and  are  gener- 
ally dismissed  without  favors  and  with  mighty  small  reward. 
Fifty  years  ago,  Karl  of  Prussia’s  and  Louis  Napoleon’s 
meanness  to  their  mistresses  was  a subject  of  comment  at 
all  courts;  in  Berlin  harlotdom,  Karl  was  known  under 
the  sobriquet  of  Thaler-Prinz,  because  three  marks  was  as 
high  as  he  would  go  in  the  way  of  pecuniary  reward,  and 
even  as  Emperor  Louis  Napoleon  seldom  spent  more  than 
four  hundred  francs  on  a woman  (when,  in  1855,  during 
the  visit  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  he  bought  a ballet-girl  for  His 
Sardinian  Majesty  for  five  thousand  francs,  Paris  thought  he 
had  taken  leave  of  his  senses,  according  to  the  Comtesse 


348 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


Damremont),  but  William  II  is  hardly  ever  more  liberal 
than  the  Man  of  Destiny  was  on  ordinary  occasions.  Those 
stories  of  a king’s  ransom  that  “ he  ties  in  diamonds  ’round 
his  mistress’s  white  neck”  are  inventions,  and  not  particu- 
larly original  ones,  either.  Though  indulging  in  the  great- 
est extravagances  where  his  own  pleasure  is  concerned,  the 
sentiment  of  self  that  rules  his  every  act  probably  per- 
suades him  that  ces  dames  ought  to  consider  the  honor  of 
having  been  intimate  with  an  Imperial  Majesty  of  his  calibre 
as  an  offset  against  disappointments  of  a financial  nature. 
Speaking  of  diamonds,  the  Duke  of  Schleswig  showed  me 
a specimen  bracelet  of  the  sort  the  Emperor  uses  for  an 
ouistiti  when  he  turns  off  a mistress.  A pretty  Potsdam 
girl  had  lent  it  to  him  in  a burst  of  confidence.  It  was 
a gold  snake  bracelet,  elaborately  chased,  with  eyes  of 
sapphires,  and  six  or  seven  circles. 

‘‘Not  worth  much,  but  of  good  workmanship,”  said  the 
Prince;  “see,  it  can  be  drawn  out  and  spread  from  wrist 
to  elbow,  or  over  the  upper  part  of  the  arm.  ’ ’ 

“I  should  not  think  that  would  look  particularly  beau- 
tiful.” 

“Perhaps  not.  It  is  not  intended  for  beauty,  either.” 
The  Duke  laughed.  I did  not  understand  him  then.  To- 
day the  reason  of  His  Majesty’s  predilections  for  snake 
bracelets  is  no  longer  a secret. 

That  the  Kaiser’s  disposition,  or  his  manners,  have  im- 
proved under  the  influence  of  the  new  order  of  things 
cannot,  in  truth,  be  said.  His  humor  vacillates  between 
sullenness  and  indifference  when  he  is  at  home,  and  though 
his  nights  belong  to  Her  Majesty,  his  behavior  very  fre- 
quently belies  his  assertion  that  he  regards  Auguste  Vic- 
toria as  sa  femme  et  sa  fnaitresse  at  the  same  time.  And 
how  could  it  be  otherwise?  If  a man  spends  his  time 
almost  entirely  in  the  society  of  male  friends,  soldiers, 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT 


349 


horses,  and  dogs,  he  can  hardly  be  expected  to  shine  in  the 
salon. 

Indeed,  the  society  circles  which  the  Emperor  honors  by 
occasional  visits  complain  that  the  tone  of  his  conversa- 
tion frequently  smacks  of  the  stable,  of  ^^Stallduft,''  as  the 
German  says.  In  conversation  with  Countess  Elly  von 
Eulenburg  at  the  Liebenberg  hunt  dinner  in  the  winter  of 
1896,  for  instance,  the  Kaiser  insinuated,  on  an  innocent 
remark  dropped  by  Her  Ladyship,  a double  entendre  which 
I should  blush  to  repeat  to  my  mistress,  if  I were  a man. 
And  to  make  it  worse.  His  Majesty  insisted  upon  reiterat- 
ing the  offensive  interpretation  over  and  over  again  to  the 
utmost  chagrin  not  only  of  Countess  Elly  and  of  the  other 
ladies  present,  but  to  the  disgust  of  the  men  as  well.  And 
that  happened  in  the  house  of  his  best  friend,  Count  Philli. 

The  only  handsome  woman  the  anonymous  letters  have 
not  frightened  from  Court  is  the  Countess  Sophie  Schlitz 
de  Gortz,  a beautiful  Brazilian,  daughter  of  the  Comte  de 
Villeneuve.  She  was  born  nearly  forty  years  ago  on  an 
estate  near  Paris  while  her  father  was  on  a diplomatic 
mission  in  Europe.  I have  already  recorded  the  Kaiser’s 
opinion  of  Her  Ladyship:  ‘^So  beautiful  a woman  can 
hardly  be  expected  to  have  sense  too.”  During  her 
annual  visits  at  Court,  he  treats  her  with  cold  courtesy, 
and  is  so  little  inclined  to  grant  her  a friend’s  privileges, 
that  on  one  occasion  she  was  forbidden  the  royal  table  for 
three  days, — that  is,  until  her  Court  dresses,  lost  in  a rail- 
way smash-up,  had  been  replaced.  Despite  the  Empress’s 
entreaties.  His  Majesty  would  not  hear  of  the  least  deviation 
from  etiquette  in  favor  of  the  unlucky  dame. 

Madame  von  Scholl,  wife  of  the  imperial  adjutant-gen- 
eral, on  the  other  hand,  is  on  very  familiar  terms  with 
William ; we  might  call  her  a second  Madame  von  Leip- 
ziger,  but  she  is  jollier  and  better  looking,  too,  though 


350 


PRIVATE  LIVES  OF 


small  of  stature,  fat,  and  over  forty.  Instead  of  wearying 
her  friends  with  riddles,  this  amiable  woman  amuses  the 
Kaiser  and  the  rest  of  us  by  her  exquisite  drdlerie  and  a 
rare  good  will  to  please, — talents  that  go  far  toward  short- 
ening our  long  hours  of  dilatory  existence. 

Born  in  Southern  Germany,  Madame  la  Generale  is  not 
hampered  by  that  punctiliousness  and  the  conventional 
scruples  which  make  the  Prussian  lady  of  quality  so  detest- 
able ; though  often  doing  things  calculated  to  drive  these 
staid  personages  to  desperation,  scandalmongery  itself  finds 
in  her  conduct  small  cause  for  criticism.  For  the  most 
scandalous  thing  she  ever  did  was  stamped  with  the  all- 
highest  approval,  and  as  she  promised  the  Empress  never  to 
do  it  again,  what  harm  can  there  be  in  this  most  innocent 
of  royal  favorites  ? 

The  scene  of  Madame  von  Scholl’s  assault  upon  the 
proprieties  was  a lonely  natural  elevation  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Havel  lakes,  whither  we  had  gone,  one  July 
day  in  1894,  on  the  royal  yacht  Alexandra  to  spend  the 
afternoon, — their  Majesties,  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of 
the  service,  and  a number  of  guests.  It  was  broiling  hot, 
with  a heat  that  induces  sleepiness  and  ill-temper  rather 
than  hilarity.  As  we  crept  along  toward  the  near-by 
forest,  only  an  occasional  word  was  spoken.  The  Kaiser 
looked  as  if  he  wished  himself  a hundred  miles  away,  and 
the  Empress  was  unhappy  because  her  lord  seemed  dis- 
pleased. Suddenly  there  arose  the  cry ; Where  is  Madame 
von  Scholl?  Did  we  leave  her  on  the  steamer?” — No. 
Some  one  had  seen  her  at  the  landing-place. 

While  these  questions  went  the  rounds,  we  heard  sharp 
whistling  somewhere  from  above,  and  there,  on  the  top  of 
the  sand-hill,  stood  madame,  swinging  her  parasol,  and 
turning  as  swiftly  on  one  brown-stockinged  foot  as  her 
ponderous  weight  permitted. 


WILLIAM  II  AND  HIS  CONSORT  35 1 

“The  fat  rascal!  ” cried  the  Emperor,  “she  must  have 
sneaked  off  the  pier  and  ascended  the  mountain  from  the 
other  side.”  Then  the  Kaiser  put  his  hands  to  his  mouth 
and  hallooed  : “ Stand  still  a second  and  give  me  a chance 
to  fix  my  camera.” 

But  at  that  moment  the  parasol  and  head  and  arms  of 
the  unhappy  lady  suddenly  took  a forward  tumble,  the  rest 
of  her  body  followed,  and,  twice  overturning,  she  rolled 
down  the  incline  like  an  avalanche  streaked  with  brown 
and  flesh  tints  and  festooned  with  multicolored  ribbons. 
Did  the  all-highest  master  and  mistress  and  their  excellen- 
cies and  ladyships  and  colonelships  and  privy  councillors 
and  learned  men  and  common  every-day  noblemen  laugh  ? 
Oh,  no  1 They  just  roared  and  bellowed  and  shouted 
and  held  their  sides  and  danced  about,  and  some  of  us 
shed  tears  at  the  hilarious  spectacle ; and  when  we  had 
disentangled  our  portly  friend  from  parts  of  her  toilet 
intended  to  hang  about  her  feet,  that  showed  a tendency 
to  envelop  her  head,  she  started  in  to  enjoy  the  situation 
herself  and  we  had  to  commence  all  over  again  to  keep  her 
company. 

And  we  kept  her  company  for  the  rest  of  the  day  and  the 
whole  evening,  and  it  was  altogether  the  pleasantest  picnic 
the  Prussian  Court  ever  attended. 


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